Highway Centennial part 1

 I'll bet none of you can imagine what is turning 100 next year. No, not Abe Vigoda, I think he left us some time ago. I am talking about the original "interstate" highway system in America.

(insert Ogre yelling NERD!!!) Yeah I know, I'm not changing my stripes anytime soon.

That aside, this system of highways is still among us. I can name at least one U.S. highway in pretty much any place I have lived. In Berks County, U.S. 22, 222, and 422; In Detroit metro, U.S. 12 and 24; in Wilmington N.C., U.S. 17, 74, 76, 421, and 117; in Sonoma County,CA, U.S. 101; and in good ol Las Vegas, we have U.S. 93 and 95!

And in that system, we have some classics, most notably U.S. 66. It is not formally with us anymore, but we road enthisiasts know where to find it when we need it and want it.

Now, I have a particular fondness for this old system, which has seen many changes over time, had old numbers (like 66) retired, or certain road stretches renumbered. The system deserves a celebration.

With all that said, I must take a little side trip to the more modern interstate system, the one that is red, white, and blue in its shielding deisgn and created by President Eisenhower in 1956. The original design of that system has also undergone changes and expansions...and it keeps expanding!

I have to wonder why. I can see where cases of congestion on 2-lane highways might demand a freeway bypass in some places, but I am seeing expansions where none are really necessary, North Carolina in particular. That state has been trying to create I 73, an eastern leg of I 74, and a southern leg of I 87 that will never connect to its New York parent. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view it), I 73 will likely stay in NC due to Virginia having no desire to build it on their turf. Perhaps it will just go to Myrtle Beach if South Carolina gets funding.

That's ok, though, there are eastern and western legs of I 76, 84, and 86. But it does go to show that there are periods where some states go freeway crazy. Illinois has probably the most even though one or two seem unnecessary when you look back. Texas is getting into it now with I 2 and 14.

To me, the dumbest Interstate was 99 in Pennsylvania, an obvious case of freeway building just to leave a personal legacy for better or worse.

The reason I bring up the newer system is that I wonder why it is necessary to expand on that one when the older system still gets freeway upgrades here and there. For instance, U.S. 220 could have been upgraded instead of 99 being created.

At any rate, I will be visiting some of these old classics here and there in the next year and a half...or longer, and see what each one brings to the national culture.

Why Me?

    I caught a small snippet of a scene near the end of The Breakfast Club the other day, a movie that could not possibly work unless kids' phones are confiscated, and that would likely end up with the school being sued for violating some form of snowflake right or other...better kept to the 80s!

   Anyway, there is a scene where Anthony Michael Hall's character is asked to write the paper that all five punks were assigned to write. Now, while his character Brian is a good guy who likely did it because there was a temporary thaw of hostilities between the represented student social classes in the movie's second half, it seems to me that there is always some schmuck in almost every group who is essentially the elected one to carry out a task nobody really wants to do.

   I look back to the 1700s, a time of unrest in the then-English Colonies, when there were open hostilities between British forces and colonists who no longer wanted any part of British rule. After about 10 years of cool to heated war, an intelligent and thoughtful man named Thomas Jefferson was ASKED to write what would essentially become the most famous petition for divorce in history, The Declaration of Independence. While we have assumed for a while that Jefferson did this out of a sense of nobility and bravery, you have to admit those heroic moments are more often than not reluctant and done out of some form of guilt trip. I can imagine the conversation between Jefferson and John Adams, the one who requested him to write it, went something like this...

Hello? Oh, hi, John! What's up?

A great honor has been bestowed on me? (sigh)...what the hell do you want me to do?

Write a declaration? Ok, sounds like something you could do yourself, you're so smart. What kind of declaration?

A declaration of independence...from England.

Yeah yeah yeah, I am fully aware of the crap going on up in Boston with the tea and all a few years ago. As far as I'm concerned, Boston Harbor got the worst of the deal. 

You think I'm a good writer. Well, you're no slouch yourself, I saw the pieces you wrote for the Boston Gazette. I mean, they weren't precisely page turners but you can put words together.

Wait wait wait...I get it! You beat me at darts last month and this is my debt because I couldn't pay up that night, right?

Oh, not that. (sigh). Ok well you need to give me some idea of what you want me to say. I mean I know I can write but I'm not about to write to His Majesty half cocked.

Yeah I KNOW I'm requesting independence. So you want me to say what..."Dear King, we want out"?

See? I need something to get this so-called declaration going, for all the good it's likely to do.

No, I don't think something this serious should start with a joke. It's a document, not a pub improv routine!

Hey, this was YOUR idea to have me write this, so unless you give me something to go on, I'm packing for Paris.

Yes, I KNOW I'm good with words, but give me a break. Give me some talking points, if you will.

All men created equal...yeah that might sound hypocritical given I have some unpaid African domestics in my house, but it's a start. What else?

Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness....well, I guess that beats my brainstorm of seven score and fifteen years ago, but it was a bad idea anyway. Good idea!

A list of grievances against the king? I might not have enough paper for the whole list! How about saying his mom wore redcoat boots?

No, you're right. See, YOU should be writing this, you have the best ideas!

(sigh) Why do I feel I drew a short straw without being there? 

Ok, fine, I think I have an idea of what to write...just to be on the safe side, I think I won't be the first to sign it...maybe second or third. Hey, let's get that clown Hancock to sign it, he signs anything just to say he was there, even though he's a bit of a third wheel.

Deal! Now, one more thing...if we're asking for this divorce if you will, we're obviously going to want to be a new country, right?

I thought so...what should I call our new digs?

The United Colonies of Adams? Very funny! Want to be king, too?

No, I don't think we want any more kings. Tell you what, I think I saw a good name in an aticle in the Virginia Gazette recently, something involving states and not colonies.

Right, I'll get to work on it soon. I'd give me until at least late June if you can, the list of crap the King's done is likely to be long. Oh, and one more thing.

If this independence thing is pulled off, and on the off chance one of us gets asked to lead it, I'll bet double or nothing on our next darts match.

Why double? If I win, I get a double term as leader! Bye!

It Was Me, Most Definitely Me

 A bit of an old and painful topic came up a couple nights ago at a New Year's Eve gathering at a friend's house.

For those who don't know, the 2010-11 school year was the worst year of my (so far) 23 years in the CCSD. I was at a new school after an 8-year stretch at my first school. I was excited about the new adventure, but a few factors led to it being the worst. In fact, it was so bad that I took FML for the final month of the year and went through a tough time afterward before I felt good at being a teacher again. I even went back to this school (but put in a different position) for the first month of the next year before voluntarily transferring after count day.

At this gathering the other night was the mom of one of my kids during that torturous year. I vaguely remembered her daughter, especially after seeing her picture. The mom told me her daughter (and other students in the class) thought I left because "they were so bad".

Folks, that one hit me hard. If there is anyone responsible for a year being bad, it is most certainly me. Granted there were factors in my life outside the classroom along with lingering crap form my first school that helped to shape that year into what it was. That said, the buck definitely stopped with me.

I had another bad year that almost matched that one 20 years ago. Once again, it wasn't the kids, it was me and how I approached things. Funny thing about that year...about 5 years ago I ran into one of the 'bad' kids from that year at a store. I shook his hand and gave him a bear hug and admitted my shortcomings that year. Truly, if I'd been more ready for the year (and had working AC in that portable), I would have had a better time with them as a whole. Same with the 2010-11 year.

Back to the gathering...the mom texted her daughter that I was there and the daughter's reply was that "oh no, he probably never wants to see me again". I asked for the mom's phone and texted that it was me and that the person responsible for that year was me, not her or her classmates. As I recall they were a decent group and if the teacher I am now was with them then, the year would have been a lot better all around.

The mom (who is very friendly and good-humored) also told me that the principal that year put me in that different position in hopes that I would quit and told everybody that.

Well, I did not quit and have held on for quite some time.

I have known other teachers who the boss, especially a new one, did not mesh well with and suffered at work and at home, often quitting just to end the torture they were going through.

There are just some people who should not be put in charge of other adults, at least not long-term. When they scheme with others working for them to isolate and alientate the ones they want to get rid of, that's a power trip, not leadership.

Being a teacher, especially nowadays, is a difficult endeavor when there is not sufficient support from administration and parents. Definitely not like when I went to school. Granted, I grew up in a pretty homogenous group, not nearly as diverse culturally and ethnically as where I teach now, but even those homogenous groups are in a different time in history where electronic devices tend to dominate their social interactions and outlooks, even with adequate parental support.

2024 celebrity losses

 Looking back to last year, we once again had so many celebrity deaths of those we have fond memories of, those 20th century gems who faded from our view for the most part as the 21st century dawned.

I'm not celebrity obsessed, but rather someone who enjoyed seeing certain performers on TV and in the cinema. When these people were on, you had the feeling it was going to be a fun watch...or at least they'd probably be the best thing in what we were watching. If not on TV or in a movie, then they helped to define at least part of the times we have lived through. Here goes.

David Soul - A household name thanks to Starsky and Hutch. He was also the leader of a group of rogue cops in Magnum Force. Like David Hasselhoff and other acotrs, tried (thankfuly a brief try) to be a singer.

Joyce Randolph- best known as Trixie Norton in The Honeymooners.

Carl Weathers- that charismatic actor who brought the character Appollo Creed to life. He was also the cool cop Action Jackson, which I alwas thought was deserving of a sequel. I think Weathers could have even played Lando Calrissian convincingly.

Toby Keith- an awesome country singer. He will always occupy at least one of our playlists in this house.

Richard Lewis- a popular stand up comic of the 1980s who brought meaning to the word 'neurotic'.

Brian Mulroney- a former Canadian prime minister...I remember him being in charge when we studies Canada in 6th grade social studies.

Eric Carmen- a decent singer of the 1970s and 80s;

M. Emmet Walsh- a good character actor of many movies, particularly Fletch, Blade Runner, and The Jerk, among many others.

Louis Gossett Jr.- the famous drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman. He played other cool characters in Iron Eagle and Diggstown.

O.J. Simpson- ok, I know his name was mud for his last 30 years, but at one time he protrayed cool and fun on screen, even if his personal life was nefarious.

Roger Corman- he gave us the original Little Shop of Horrors and other B-movie classics of the 60s and 70s.

Dabney Coleman- a classic actor of the 60s all the way into this century! I will always remember him playing obnoxious and snide characters whenever I saw him. 9 to 5, Tootsie, WarGames, and The Man With One Red Shoe made playing bad look fun.

Morgan Spurlock- the man who revealed what a fast food only diet could do to us by adhering to one himself in a grotesque experiment.

Willie Mays (not Willie Mays Hays)- damn cool baseball player!

Donald Sutherland- father of Kiefer, he was a fun presence in several films spanning from the late 60s into recent history. The original Hawkeye Pierce!

Martin Mull- a popular face on TV and some movies. Often obnoxious roles he had, but he made them memorable.

Shelley Duvall- The silver screen's Olive Oyl as well as the terrorized wife in The Shining, both in 1980.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer- her mainstream sex advice and widespread media appearances were a huge part of the 1980s!

Shannen Doherty- the breakout star of 90210 who became tabloid fodder...like many stars.

Richard Simmons- another 80s icon, who made the idea of aerobic exercise fun and flamboyant...just like life should always be!

James B. Sikking- "Judas H Priest, Frank!" was his TV-toned down exclamation on Hill Street Blues for 7 years. He also played Doogie Howser's dad and the humiliated captain of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek 3...among many roles.

Bob Newhart- along with George Carlin, my favorite comedian. He influenced a few of my blog posts with his one side of the conversation style. He was also a talented actor with his low-key self. He once told a producer who questioned his famous stammer that his stammer built him a home in Beverly Hills.

Wally Amos- cookies, 'nuff said!

Peter Marshall- actor, singer, and somewhat reluctant (at first) game show host who made playing the straight man to 9 wise-cracking panelists on The Hollywood Squares look almost effortless.

Phil Donahue- the man who made talk shows with a huge audience popular way before anyone heard the name Oprah. He tackled the funny, the serious, and the controversial with equal commitment. A class act.

John Amos- known as Kunta Kinte and James Evans Sr. on TV, often playing a force to be reckoned with...even when being defeated by John McClain in Die Hard 2.

James Earl Jones- probably will always be remembered for the cyborg voice of Darth Vader but his talents spanned decades.

John Ashton- probably best known for playing Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop movies, he also had a minor but recurring role on Dallas in its second season and as rival bounty hunter Marvin in Midnight Run.

Maggie Smith- although being a household image to fantasy lovers in the Harry Potter films as Professor McGonagall, she achieved fame by 1969 in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Kris Kristofferson- he was one of my mom's favorite singers when I was little...every time the 1976 version of A Star is Born was on, she was watching. He also made himself a decent actor.

Pete Rose-a damn great ballplayer, brought down by his own gambling addictions. A personal aside here: other athletes did way worse things than his gambling. I thought the powers-that-be's refusal to let him into the baseball Hall of Fame was too hard-assed.

Teri Garr- I loved seeing this woman on film. She was funny, classy, and damn sexy in whatever role she played, which were many!

Quincy Jones- he composed some of the best TV and film scores of all time!

Chuck Woolery- one of the best game show hosts out there. He never played it wild, but just cool. He got Wheel of Fortune off to a good 6 year start and made blind dates look fun on Love Connection.

Jimmy Carter- I already mentioned him in a previous post, but he proved that being a one term President doesn't define the soul inside. On the contrary, his humanitarian efforts proved what a real man he was.

Linda Lavin- a good actress and singer, immortalizing the TV version of a role created on film.

Radio Killed the Radio Star

    Let's see, what should I listen to? 

   I've heard my entire playlist many times over...let's see what's on SXM/Sirius radio...

   70s- "Bohemian Rhapsody"...NO!

   80s-"At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters...NO!

   90s- "Baby Baby"...NO!

   OK, let's try the 60s station

   60s-"Satisfaction" by the Stones....always a favorite but NO!

   Video killed the radio star my ass! Do you really know what killed the radio star? RADIO!

   Seriously! 

   Growing up in Berks County, PA...codename OUTER PHILLY BURBS...there was a station many of us listened to: WRFY, otherwise known as Y102. It was THE top 40 station in the area, and they played the same general songs over and over. Sure, it was good if you liked the whole selection, which changed just a bit over the weeks if you were a die hard listener, but there were a few songs that just killed the eardrums after a while, usually by a love song balladeer who thought he made the ladies swoon...or wet themselves...or whatever.

   "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters, for those of you who don't know, was a song played in a two part Family Ties story in 1985. About a month or so later, it was on the radio constantly! I swear I heard it at least four times a week for the next few months, but wait, there's more! "Sister Christian", "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"...

   And then in 1992, Wayne's World decided to unearth a rock opera classic by Queen that I had never heard before. And for 32 years, "Bohemian Rhapsody" has been infiltrating my eardrums on any 70s or classic rock station. I didn't mind at first, it was still new to me and a lot of people were playing or singing it because, well, it was likely new to them too, even though the song was from 1975.

   And on that note, one of my complaints about Sirius/XM is that for $23 a month I get about the same amount of repetition that over the air radio gave me for decades FOR FREE!

   I don't think it's any wonder why in the early 90s I started listening to oldies and classic rock. Sure, there was some repetition, but it was spread out over about 19 years worth of music. Back in 1992, oldies stations were playing roughly 1955-73. I  had no idea of who was popular music wise until I went to Sonoma State in 1994 and my dorm mates were playing Nine Inch Nails.

   Sometimes I think back to WKRP in Cincinnati, where program director Andy Travis begged Dr. Johnny Fever to play a hit, ANY hit, once in a while. With the exception of once when Johnny had something good happen to him and he celebrated by playing a hit, Andy was ecstatic! And it did not happen again. 

   If anyone knows anything about music and radio history, they might have read something about a scheme called payola, where radio DJs were bribed and/or gifted to play certain songs. It later became a misdemeanor. This was all back in the 1950s and often involved promoting new rock and roll artists and songs to the mainstream. 

   When you think about it, record companies have had basically the same relationship with radio station program directors for a long time. Probably not much anymore with the automation of free radio stations, but I suspect some of those top artists' songs in the 80s and early 90s were played so frequently as a result of underhanded yet legal tactics, all designed to irritate my nerves to no end!

   I am not sure how it all works now, especially since I don't listen to newer music by choice. My daughter introduces me to certain artists, and I am not sure how they are promoted, but I tend to believe social media is the new exposure agent. Her tastes are always changing. Sometimes it's the new emo artist of the week or some "retro" Billie Eilish, maybe some retro R&B or the Beatles. I remember her loving Imagine Dragons just 5 years ago, that time is such a blur now.

   Free radio is repetitive and so is subscription radio. I guess the plus side of subscription is you get repetition within an era, or genre. If you think about it, the decade channels are almost a joke because the styles and tastes certainly changed within every decade. 

   If you listen to the 60s channel, you can get the Everly Brothers followed by Jeffrerson Airplane, followed by Shelley Fabares, followed by Iron Butterfly! 

    If you listen to the 70s channel, you can get The Carpenters followed by  The Doors, followed by Carly Simon, followed by The Eagles!

   If you listen to the 80s, you can get Juice Newton followed by Bobby Brown, followed by Heart, followed by Madonna!

   For a while, MTV created the need for a video to make a song a hit...by the late 90s, that was fading, but luckily I don't remember so much repetition on videos as radio songplay, probably because there was often an opening and closing to videos in addition to the actual songs, which made the video time longer. There were so many videos coming out that VH1 became a necessity to cover stuff the "folks" would like while the teens watched MTV. Now, MTV is an unrecognizable wasteland and VH1 is really no more.

   No matter the changes in music styles, the system of over-repetition is still in place, whether we want it or not. Now let me get back to my music...

70s- "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Classic Rewind- "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Classic Vinyl- "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Rock Bar- "Bohemian Rhapsody"

   Time for an audio book maybe?

Inside Out Reflection

    Whoa, this is a heavy set of baggage when it comes to movies. It’s heavy emotion wise for me, both movies, actually. 

   I know I usually have some witty starter to my entries, but I don’t really feel witty of late. It’ll come back, I am sure, hopefully soon, because writing about “heavy” stuff isn’t my usual style. Of late, I have been bogged down with a lot of emotions. All I can say of that is, IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

   For a long time now, I can’t even pinpoint exactly when it started, I have had an emotional wall around me, a strong one that kept a lot inside. I think it was designed to protect myself from, well, whatever. Not a lot was getting out except a few moments of anxiety, frustration, and anger. But once those moments were gone, the wall repaired itself. 

   I was not even aware there was a wall. I should have been. Looking back on the recent past , I see where I wasn’t being myself, not opening up to people who are important to me, especially my own family.

   Then I saw “Inside Out 2”…and a few days later I saw the first one. The wall crumbled. Slowly at first, but a week later I rewatched some parts of both and after a talk with my counselor, I began to understand that I was finally beginning to feel liberated in terms of feelings.

   I’ve been crying a lot at odd moments. Lots of thoughts, Lots of reflections.

   In the first one when Riley is finally able to tell her parents she is sad, wow, I think that moment will elicit tears from me every time I see it. That’s ok, that’s my personal connection. Really, I see that moment in the movie and I want to hug that girl myself and let her know her feelings are normal and right to have. The fading of Bing Bong is also a biggie, though I appreciate Richard Kind’s perfect voice for a character created in a toddler’s mind. It made his fading away all the sadder just like the fading away of all young children’s wonderful imagination.

   Some might think it’s only a Pixar movie, why am I getting so worked up and emotional? I guess the answer is that it had to happen. I have been reading and watching videos online about these movies and that I am not the only one reacting this way.

   The main musical theme in Inside Out is also a touching one for me, evoking a lot of emotions about my daughter and the carefree innocence she once had before becoming a "moody" teenager. Believe me, I feel that sense of loss now regularly. I know that childhood innocence and fun is an era I will not feel again, nor see again in Natalie. Another sad feeling, but one I really have no choice but to accept. Thank heaven for all the recorded bits we have of her!

   A lot of sadness and grief in a short time. Playing catch-up I guess, and it is YEARS worth. That's ok. I feel more alive emotionally than going through the motions.

   I am happy to be experiencing these feelings again and to be enjoying a better relationship with my family and myself. So if a couple of animated movies got the tear ducts going, so be it. 

Inside Out

    Whoa, this is a heavy set of baggage when it comes to movies. It’s heavy emotion wise for me, both movies, actually. 

   I know I usually have some witty starter to my entries, but I don’t really feel witty of late. It’ll come back, I am sure, hopefully soon, because writing about “heavy” stuff isn’t my usual style. Of late, I have been bogged down with a lot of emotions. All I can say of that is, IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

   For a long time now, I can’t even pinpoint exactly when it started, I have had an emotional wall around me, a strong one that kept a lot inside. I think it was designed to protect myself from, well, whatever. Not a lot was getting out except a few moments of anxiety. But once those moments were down, the wall repaired itself. 

   I was not even aware there was a wall. I should have been. Looking back on the recent past , I see where I wasn’t being myself, not opening up to people who are important to me, especially my own family.

   Then I saw “Inside Out 2”…and a few days later I saw the first one. The wall crumbled. Slowly at first, but a week later I rewatched some parts of both and after a talk with my counselor, I began to understand that I was finally beginning to feel liberated in terms of feelings.

   I’ve been crying a lot at odd moments. My biggest moment, though was to my daughter. With my wall up, I was sharing things with her that a teenager did not need to hear from her dad. I apologized for that. A moment in the second movie when the main character Riley was having a panic attack struck me immediately and I made the connection to Natalie’s own struggles as a teen. I had no right to add to them.

   And in the first one when Riley is finally able to tell her parents she is sad, wow, I think that moment will elicit tears from me every time I see it. That’s ok, that’s my personal connection. Really, I see that moment in the movie and I want to hug that girl myself and let her know her feelings are normal and right to have.

   Some might think it’s only a Pixar movie, why am I getting so worked up and emotional? I guess the answer is that it had to happen. I have been reading about these movies and that I am not the only one reacting this way.

   The main musical theme in Inside Out is also a touching one for me, evoking a lot of emotions about my daughter and the carefree innocence she once had before becoming a "moody" teenager. Believe me, I feel that sense of loss now regularly. I know that childhood innocence and fun is an era I will not feel again nor see again in Natalie. Another sad feeling, but one I really have no choice but to accept. Thank heaven for all the recorded bits we have of her.

   A lot of sadness and grief in a short time. Playing catch-up I guess.

   I am happy to be experiencing these feelings again and to be enjoying a better relationship with Natalie. She is the best thing I ever created and the best part of me. So if a couple of animated movies get the tear ducts going, so be it.