On the South Side

While attending the aforementioned party at Amy's, I found myself standing across a foosball table from my soon-to-be-19-year-old daughter. After slamming a few balls past her poor goalie, she remarked, "what? ...how? ...when?" I wanted to answer, "you mean give you another example of how I wasted away my youth?" But, instead, I told the story. First, remember, if you're talking to anyone under the age of 25 or 30, it's incumbent upon you to remind them that during the summers there was no cable TV, no video games, no computers or internet. Sure, we watched our fair share of regular TV, but that was quite limited in comparison. So... There's a small store-front on the corner of Bates & Colorado across the street from Woodward Elementary School (where four generations of Hudsons attended) that has seen many different incarnations in its day. In my youth it was a small pinball hall run by a old Greek guy. Inside were a few pinball machines and a fe...

Lovingly called S low B ut D eadly, the SBD Dauntless Dive-bomber saved the world on the morning of June 4, 1942 . I'm not quite sure why I've always had a penchant for this little airplane. I guess because of the unlikely story. And then when it was replaced online mid-war, nobody liked the new planes, they wanted to go back to the Dauntless. This is in Pensacola and I go see it every time we go down there. It saved the world you know.

23 years ago, on a day just like today, in the hot, muggy St. Louis weather, we were married. And since Annette was 22 years old on that day, she has officially been married longer than she's not been married. Strictly by calendar years, my turn comes next year. I bought an iPod Nano for an Anniversary gift. Since we've been working out every day now, we thought we could use one. By the way, this photo is not from the year we were married, but about 1989 or so while we were in Pensacola. Upon gazing at the photo, Emily made the comment "I don't know those people." Today, everybody headed out to Cousin Amy's house to welcome home her son Eric. He's been in Iraq and will have to return there soon. Eric is in an Air Force Special Unit, but don't ask me what he does. As close as I can tell he "goes and gets people and brings them back." As I sat and watched him rough-house with his small cousins, I couldn't help but think of a blog post I...

The year was 1986. We lived in a little apartment on Michigan Ave. up in the Compton Heights area. We only lived their six months before we found the place on Dover Pl. A lot happened in that six months of my live, though. We got pregnant and then lost it. You can't help wondering what could've been, you know? Second, the Challenger Accident. I was devastated by that. Especially thinking about all the school kids watching. And third, Halley's Comet. I went out and bought a little reflector telescope and jimmy-rigged a camera mount to it. A friend from work, who was an amateur photographer, thought he could handle the camera/film part of the job if I could handle the spotting/tracking part of it. So, we went out into the wild flat plains outside of Columbia Illinois and set up. Did I mention we were amateurs? Also when I say I was "tracking" it, I mean I was literally tracking it; with hand controls. What that means is after painstakingly setting up an equatorial ...

Today, I blog from the outside. Right outside my house, that is. Yes, my darling daughter has returned from school and with her she has brought her laptop computer with its wireless internet. So, here I sit on the veranda (south-side driveway), enjoying the spring weather by sharing my thoughts with you; my gentle readers. The only thing missing from this experience is a couple of real human beings. And a front porch. Hmmm....

First off, this is another scan of an old picture. This is me and by beloved Killer shortly after we were married. Me and Annette, that is, not me and Killer; though most times I'm sure Killer believed she was married to me. Annette already had this great apartment in Richmond Heights and I moved in there after the wedding. This was the shortest my hair had been, well, since just about the time of that last picture. Marty was telling me how much she enjoyed the picture and that Wally couldn't pick me out of the group and that got me reminiscing about the old days. The good ol' days of the boy who looked like a girl. I guess my favorite story is of the time, I'd guess also around the time of that last picture, that me and my dad and his best bud Kim went deer hunting. Now we did this every year for awhile during that era, and this time we'd stopped in a small-town diner for something to eat. I had to go to the bathroom, so when the waitress approached our table, I a...

We needed a new inkjet printer, so I went ahead and bought one that scans too. This is an old picture. My dad has two sisters, Michelle (Mickey) and Beth ( now deceased .) These are "the kids" circa 1970. On the couch are Becky, slouching in her lap is Amy. In the middle is Lisa and then Carrie. Seated on the floor, left to right is Scott, Kenny, some hippe kid that everyone thought was a girl but was really a boy, and then my darling little sister Jennifer. I'm happy to say that we all turned out pretty good.

I was introduced to Gene Pitney when Annette's brother Joe was getting married in Denver many years ago. I forget exactly how the multi-talented Pingel family figured I was the best one for the job, but nonetheless, I was asked to sing and play at Joe's wedding. So, the song Joe and his lovely wife-to-be picked out? True Love Never Runs Smooth by Gene Pitney. Gene who? I asked. I'd never heard of him. I know, I know, you're aghast at the thought. Just remember, I was raised on Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent. Anyway, I still remember Annette telling me to stop trying to sing like Gene Pitney; it wasn't working for me. I didn't care though, I had to try in order to get the feel of the song. She still gets me on that. Whenever I go to learn a song I sing like the artist that I'm copying. She tells me to cut it out 'cuz I cant' do it, I say I know, leave me alone, and usually by the time I have to sing it, I've figured a way to sing it normal-like. Wi...

We the pee...pul; We the pee-pul! That's what I think about when I think about Don Knotts. There are so many, of course. But, that episode where Barney goes through the entire Preamble without remembering a single word; well, it just doesn't get any better. Don Knotts died yesterday at age 81. That same day I received a birthday card from Jennifer. A Barney Fife birthday card, that is. Barney on the envelope and on the card. It was special. Yes, my birthday is Monday, the 27th. Tonight, we spent a quiet evening at Becky's with just Mom, Russ and Becky & Steve. It was very nice. This morning, at his request, I picked up my Dad for church. Methodist Church, that is. He usually attends with Judy at her Catholic service, but she was out of town so he wanted to come with us. No special plans for tomorrow. I have three lessons in the evening; that pretty much fills the whole night. In fact, everyday this week is booked already. Wed. is Ash Wed. already! I can't believe...

Alison Krauss + Union Station land 3 (more) Grammys! - Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Best Country Instrumental Performance - Best Country Album If you're saying to yourself, "I gotta get me some of that," allow me to help. Start with one of her older tunes I've Got That Old Feeling from the CD of the same name. Then, also from that disc, It's Over . Then jump to Ghost in This House from Forget About It. If that one doesn't get you, then just stop, there's no need to go any further, you must be dead. But, if you're still alive go ahead listen to The Lucky One from New Favorite. She singing this song to me, though I've told her repeatedly that I'm a happily married man, but I thanked her nonetheless. Reuters called her "Queen of the Grammys," because of her record 20 awards at the young age of 34.

OK, you guessed it; I'm listening to the Police. I finally figured out a way to import all of Emily's itune folders into my itunes. Now, mind you, I let most of them be, but she had some good ones. Music she learned to like from her old man. Beatles, Dylan, etc. News today from Apple about another new IPod Nano. I just might have to get me one of those. Right after I get my laptop, that is. We watched Saturday Night Live the other night. Musical guest was Prince. I have to admit, he was awesome. Really, really good. Speaking of his first song: just a good old fashion rock song. He was playing the part of classic rock guitar hero which he's quite adept at. Derivative? Sure, but honestly, the simple construction and execution of the song was refreshing if only because I'm tired of seeing the angst-ridden falsetto-singing faces of the twenty-somethings that usually take up space on SNL. His second song he acted as back-up to a girl named Tamara. I don't know what her...

Had a special request to write something tonight...so, I'll try. Writer's block? Nah, you'd have to be a writer to have that. Too busy? No more than usual. Nothing to say? Now, you may have something there. If my writing cannot edify the reader, I'm not interested in taking the time. I've realized that I'm much more effective at this on a verbal plane; whether it be conversation, debate, lecture, even singing. One of the things I realized about moving away from Dover Place was that all the conversation with the gang out on the porch used to stimulate my writing. For example, after my last entry, Tim picked up on the subject and expounded on it in his blog. That, in turn, got me thinking about it even more, and typically I would have followed up the next night with another entry going further with my point. But, I didn't get to actually talk to him or anyone else about it, so it just kinda drifted away. Edification? Entertainment? Amusement? All worthy goal...

What does it mean to say that God is punishing someone for something? I see this in two different ways. The first is what I might call the naturalist's view; you know, things your mother probably told you: If you don't take care of yourself, you'll get sick. If you spend your time disobeying the rules, you'll die. To the naturalist, these are simply the laws of the universe, like gravity. To a religious person, since God created the natural world, these are God's laws. The second sort of punishment is personal. By this I don't mean personally directed at you , though it might be, I mean personally communicated to you by God. So, if you say something like, "God is punishing that person for doing that thing," then I assume that God told you that. If He didn't tell you that and you say that He did, you'd be guilty of a rather profane act and could find yourself on the receiving end of some punishment of your own. A more subtle version of this is...

With the new year upon us, my thoughts turn to young love. When a girl and guy fall for each other; in love for maybe the first time. What is love? Why, glad you asked. As a certified old married guy, I hold the secrets to love. Yes, that's right, all you have to do is ask, and the secrets I will share. First, though, some poetry. What could I say that the great poets haven't before? Little, I'm sure. Sweet little Sheila You'll know her if you see her Blue eyes and a ponytail Cheeks are rosy She looks a little nosey Man, this little girl is fine Never knew a girl Like my little Sheila Her name drives me insane Sweet little girl That's my little Sheila Man, this little girl is fine Me and Sheila go for a ride Oh-oh-oh-oh Feel funny inside Then little Sheila Whispers in my ear Oh-oh-oh-oh I love you Sheila dear Sheila said she loves me She said she'd never leave me True love that will never die We're doggone happy Just me and her together Man, this littl...

It was Christmastime of ought-five The whether had finally turned cold The news came that Mr. Ray had passed Now everyone had to be told About the plans to honor him And how we’d do that at the church Where he gave his life and two loves And now; an end to his search His daughter asked me to sing a song I was honored but afraid Afraid that I wasn’t worthy Then, He spoke; and I obeyed Mr. Ray’s grandson told me, “Your dad sang at my grandpa B's service.” I said, “That’s somethin',” and thought, “Thanks for making me nervous.” Bing Crosby, Eddie Arnold and me We sang Rock of Ages From Our Favorite Hymns we picked After turning lots of pages

I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains, I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways, I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests, I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans, I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard Isn’t that enough?

It used to be called Armistice Day because, at that hour on that day, the war to end all wars finally ended. It was 1918; 87 years ago. I spend much time reading and thinking about World War II; I told Emily not long ago that one cannot understand the world around us without an understanding of that that war. But, truth be told, it is the Great War that defines our modern world. Notice my use of the present tense. The people we today call Islamic terrorists fight for a day when they can return to the glory that ended " more than 80 years ago... " It was then that the world we know was formed. [ from Wikipedia ] World War I proved to be the decisive break with the old world order, marking the final demise of absolutist monarchy in Europe. Four empires were shattered: The German, the Austro-Hungarian, the Ottoman, and the Russian. Their four dynasties, the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburgs, the Ottomans, and the Romanovs, who had roots of power back to the days of the Crusades, al...

I was watching The West Wing the other night, a program I started watching just to have something to talk to my father about, and in-between all my complaining I ran right over a moment when I thought, "yeah...good point." It was towards the end when the Democratic candidate was talking to a women's rights advocate. This woman was threatening to throw her support to the Republican candidate because, since they were both pro-choice, why not support the better man? The big issue was not over abortion itself but over restrictions on abortion. Since, as I said, both were pro-choice, the argument was over who favored which restrictions. The Republican candidate favored parental notification and was 100% against partial-birth abortions while the Democratic candidate's position was no restrictions at all. As the Democratic candidate and the woman were arguing, he said to her, (I paraphrase from memory) "do you favor abortion based on race?" She, of course said no. ...

Well, it's all over. The Astros convincingly beat the Cardinals in 6 games of the NLCS and they're on their way to their first ever World Series. They're a class team and I'll be rooting for them in the Series. I guess the poignancy of the end of Busch Stadium, the only stadium I've ever known, somewhat overshadows the loss and the end of the season. There'll be another season; just not in this ballpark. My dad put some perspective on it the other day when he commented that he remembers feeling like this over the old Sportsman Park, but then he realized that the Cardinals had more years in this Busch Stadium than the old park. Turns out he may be off by a couple of years, but his point hit home with me. Ball parks, like most everything in this life, come and go; it's just a building. Kinda like a church. It's time for a new generation to capture some new memories in the new ballpark. We're lucky here in St. Louis; we have a good team most every yea...

It all started Friday afternoon. I left work a little early so as to renew my license plates. They were already overdue, of course. The DMV near my house has closed, so I happily drove to the nearest location, which is not-so-near my house. I joined the line of similarly natured folks and soon enough noticed a hand-written sign on the wall reading, “We not accept Credit or Debit Cards.” Now, first of all, can the state of Missouri not afford a real sign? And second of all, why not? Anyway, I left. What do I care, I have a pleasant evening and weekend ahead of me, I’ll just come back in the morning and get this all straightened out. So, the evening rolls around; Annette is visiting her sister, Emily is coming home tomorrow (Sat.) for a family wedding, and I have the evening to myself. And thus is began. Still Friday evening the phone rings and it’s Emily. She had told us that she had a ride to St. Charles and we would then pick her up there sometime Saturday. She tells me that she’s ar...