Finally!

For the past 20 years or so, I've always wanted to see B.B King at a live concert.  He's a great blues player, a great icon.  He's probably an action figure by now!  I remember years ago, when son Dan was waiting tables next door to the Newport Music Hall in Cowlumbus.  B.B. King had just given a concert and at the end came into that restaurant.  Dan waited on him and was thrilled to do so.  Said he was a great customer and very friendly.  B.B. King gave him a 'Lucille' lapel pin.  Dan gave it to me 'cause he knew how much I like his music.  I was so jealous.  For an instant, I wanted to be there waiting on him.  Years later, my good friend Andy showed me a video of U2's "Rattle and Hum" when B.B. King played with them.  In it, B.B. King says, "I'm horrible with chords, I don't play chords".  U2's Bono said, "We'll get 'The Edge' to play chords".  I never thought of B.B. King not playing chords, just never entered my mind but, yes, he don't do chords.  Anyway, a few years back, he was playing at the Ventura County Fair but it was one of those 'first come, first seated' kind of deals and I would have to have been sitting all day, keeping my seat in order to see him.  Not!  So, more years go by and then I realized that one of us, him or me, were gonna die before I see him if I don't do something soon.

Yesterday, I got two tickets for Charlene and Me to see him in Santa Barbara at the end of November.  Finally!

Paper, Plastic and Boxes

I've shared photos in the past of Cat laying on various papers, from copier paper to Christmas wrap.  She loves plastic equally well, especially grocery bags.  She loves to nuzzle her way inside them, curl up and go to sleep.  Then, wake up, do some things around the house and return to the bag, curl up on top of it and re-sleep.  Paper or plastic?  Hard choice for her.  Big paper bags, the kind with handles on it are a perfect trap for her.  We lay one down, she crawls in, curls up and we pick up the bag and carry her around - she doesn't care, it paper.  Ditto with the plastic grocery bags.  Again, she doesn't care if we pick it up by the handles with her inside and carry it around - it's plastic.  Paper or Plastic.

And then, there's boxes.  Cardboard boxes, large or small.  Carry one in and her eyes widen, fixed on the box.  Lay it down and she's inside in a flash.  Mmmmmm, boxes.....

Travis has been saving for months for a very special, very expensive skateboard and it finally came today, in a box.  After he opened it and removed the skateboard, he set the box on the living room floor and took his skateboard out to play.  The cat was inside the box instantly.  She nestled under the packing material and went to sleep, curled up.  Later, she's up, eating, pooping, running, cleaning and then back to the box, this time at the other end and on top of the packing material.  I've taken two photos.  The first is me calling out to her, she swivels her head towards me as she finished a yawn, tongue half out.  Click on the picture for the larger version, then use your 'back' button to return here.

The last picture is of the other end of the box where she first slept.  Notice the 'formed covered nest'.

Cat, lover of paper, plastic and cardboard boxes.  Oh, and food, drawing blood from my hands when we play rough, bouncing off walls and doors, waking us at 5 in the morning to see if we're ready to feed her, sleeping 42 hours a day, etc......

Where were you on.........?

Sitting here this Sunday morning, reading the Sunday paper and listening to practically every broadcast TV channel remembering 911.  Both newspaper and TV recounts the lives of most Americans and what they were doing when they first heard the news of the terrorist attacks.  In my lifetime, this is the third "Where were you when....." .

The first was in 1958 when Father John, our church Pastor retrieved me from 6th grade class at Cranbrook Elementary School on May 20th.  Under the pretense that my Mom was sick and needed me to help out, he took me home.  I remember riding in his 57 Chevy, blue and white in color and just doing small talk during the ride.  Upon arriving at home, Aunt Betty and Uncle Dean were there.  Aunt Betty was in the kitchen doing something and Uncle Dean was vacuuming the living room floor.  Mom appeared and took me into her bedroom and closed the door.  I was confused and inquisitive at the time, not expecting what was to come next. She hugged me and told me that Dad had been killed in a plane crash.  I remember most of the rest of that day.  Some parts I blanked out but Sister Pat filled me in on that.  Yea, over 53 years later I still remember where I was and what I was doing on that day.

The second time I experienced "Do you remember where you were when....?" was a little over 5 years later.  I was a senior at Whetstone High School.  The year was 1963 and it was early afternoon, November 22, and this particular class period I was in Audio Visual, being one of those guys that brings the film/slide projector or TV to a class and runs whatever the teacher wants to do.  There were two of us that period and we had no assignment so we were just watching TV, some soap opera when Walter Cronkite broke in with the news that the President of the United States had been shot and taken to the hospital in Dallas.  A few minutes later, he confirmed that the President had died.  I remember running at full speed to the school office and told the principal what had happened.  He followed me back to the AV room and the three of us watched in horror.  School let out early that afternoon, the mood extremely quiet and somber.  And I remember the next painful week in our history.  Joe Arthur, history teacher at the school (and soon to be my brother-in-law), said it was a horrible thing but if it had to happen, he was glad it happened in our lifetime so we could experience it.  Strange statement but I can appreciate it.  Yea, I still remember where I was and what I was doing over 48 years ago.

10 years ago today, being an early riser and a news junky, I was up early getting ready for work and turned on the TV.  There it was, the burning North Tower of the World Trade Center.  Shortly thereafter, the South Tower was hit by the 2nd plane.  Before I left for work, the South Tower had fallen before my eyes.  Terrorism had finally arrived inside our country on a massive scale.  Things would never again be the same.  Yea, I still remember where I was and what I was doing 10 years ago.