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BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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As I wrote last week, Princess and I drove up
the Blue Ridge Parkway in the reliable, old Mazdamobile. As much as
possible, we tried to avoid the crowds and the traffic jams. We took
the road less traveled. This year we went camping. After 1,500 miles wandering back roads up the eastern United States, we landed in Cleveland, Ohio. Now, before you begin, I'll tell you I have heard most every joke there is about my original home town; heck, I have probably told most of them. I still wear a T-shirt from my last visit there. On the front of the shirt it says, "Cleveland: Cars, bars, and a few weirdos." One of my favorite jokes went like this: What do Michael Jackson and the Cleveland Indians have in common? They both wear a glove on one hand for no apparent reason. Not true any more; the Indians have been at the top of their division several years in a row. I guess I'll have to retire that one. Oh wait; I can just recycle it for my current home town: Tampa, home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who finished the season about 48 games out of first place. Well, it is their first year. But wherever I go, defeat seems to tag along. But Cleveland is a proud, old town, clawing its way back to respectability - and doing very well, I might add. You could do a lot worse than spending a few days in Cleveland. As I described last week, Princess and I went camping. With all due respect to Tom Boddett, American campgrounds and parks are a whole lot more wholesome and appealing than a string of Motel 6s.
In Cleveland, we stayed at Punderson State Park, a huge complex about 20
miles east of the city.
One night, I set my cot aside and slept on the ground; I wanted to get the feel of the dirt. You see, my parents are buried in a cemetery not far from there; I already have a spot reserved for me. I wanted a preview of what the ground might be like in years to come. While I would never move back to Cleveland - the winters there are just too brutal - apparently I have no qualms about spending the rest of eternity there. But who knows; I may live to regret that decision. (Eh, maybe that was not the right way to phrase that.)
I'm sorry - but the nineties is not rock and roll; I don't care what MTV says. (Of course, MTV is not rock and roll, either. I don't know what it is - but it is not rock and roll.) I had planned to bring back several pictures to show you here at BBHQ; but cameras are not allowed inside. Imagine if Disneyworld tried that one! But among other things, they have on display some original sheet music from a Lennon/McCartney song and some promotional material for Simon and Garfunkel... when they were known as Tom and Jerry. They also had Buddy Holly's glasses; they miraculously managed to survive the plane crash, I guess. One of my most stark recollections is that of a full-size picture of the late, great rocker, Janis Joplin. She was standing up straight (a rare pose for her), naked as they day she was born, with her hands strategically crossed below her waist to hide ever-so-little. That's OK; it was... provocative. But what amazes me is that they chose to mount the picture directly across from the entrance to the men's bathroom. What on earth were they thinking of? Then we headed back down south. Only one BBHQ visitor thought of inviting us to pay a visit on our travels. Outside of Columbus, Ohio, we stopped in to see boomers Kathy and her husband, Larry. They are part of a nice, middle-America family in a nice, middle-America town. Larry told me he is a quality control manager for Conrail. It was an awkward moment; I don't know exactly what that entails, but I congratulated him; I remarked that it has been years since we heard of one of those wide-body Conrails falling out of the sky. What else could I say?
Now, all this has little to do with being a baby boomer. And it has nothing to do with the issues facing us in our everyday lives. Nothing happened on our trip that you will ever see on the evening news or hear discussed on Jerry Springer's show or CNN Headline News. But that is precisely my point. We avoided the massive crowds and the commercial hangouts. If we have to spend 50 weeks a year fighting rush-hour traffic (now there is a misnamed phrase: rush-hour traffic), perhaps we should spend two weeks where there are no crowds, no lines, and no hassles. No, I am not talking about Bali High, Brigadoon, or some other fantasy location. I am taking about the trails and streams and hills and valleys of our state and national parks. Just a thought. And what a pleasant one! Despite our mis-leaders in Washington, we are truly blessed to live in this country.
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I...
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Exploring My Roots: A Chicowitz History
Membership details here.
Terrific boomer memorabilia!!
Remember this?
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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