I wasn’t going to post a new blahg so soon but today I’m feeling nostalgic. Today, May 24th, 2023, is my Dad’s birthday. He would have been 86. My Father passed away in January of 2019. I first started blahging about my Father’s health issues in WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. HENDERSON? and then when he died, I talked about his passing in THE PASSING OF GEORGE ARTHUR HENDERSON. I was really consumed with grief over my Father’s passing so I wrote about dealing with my grief in another blahg, ME AND MY GRIEF. Two years later, I started to feel like I couldn’t remember what my Father’s voice sounded like so I found examples of my Father’s voice and then wrote about them in the blahg, MY FATHER’S VOICE.
I don’t want to right another full blahg about my Father and how sad I’m feeling today. I just want to give a shout out to Dad and tell him “I Love You” and everything I’ve accomplished in my life is a direct result of him in part. He’s responsible for who I am. If that isn’t a song cue, I don’t know what is.
You know you’ve been writing blahgs for a long time when you start to revisit issues from long ago. In January of this year, our Washing Machine needed to be replaced. It wasn’t spinning the water out of the clothes properly and sometimes it would mysteriously leak. I began to wonder how long we had had that Washing Machine but then I remembered that I had written a blahg once about our old one and when we had purchased it. That blahg was THE WASHING MACHINE and it was published on February 16, 2012. That meant the Washing Machine I needed to replace was approximately eleven years old. It certainly didn’t owe me anything. It had, in Vulcan terms, lived long and prospered.
I know the title of this blahg is “THE NEW WASHING MACHINE AND THE NEW DISHWASHER. GUESS WHICH ONE I HATE?” I’m not going to hold in you in suspense. I love the Washing Machine. Here’s a quick description GE Adora 27-inch 4.9 (IEC) Cu. Ft. Top Load Washer with Stainless Steel Drum in White, Model # GTW495DMNWS. It has a glass lid so you can look inside and watch your clothes being washed. I guess that’s a thing to do if you don’t have a television or a device to stream something more interesting. But it you are the type of person who likes to watch your clothes being washed or like watching paint dry then have at it!
The actual story about purchasing the machine wasn’t as interesting or as long as the story about the previous Washing Machine that needed replacing. We looked at a few online but found that the stores in our area didn’t have any in stock. We went to Lowes and looked at a few and I think we decided on an LG but then we went to Home Depot and found this GE Machine for a decent price. We went home and ordered it online and our delivery was scheduled for January 18th.
The most important thing we had to determine, next to the price and having it delivered, was ensuring it would fit in the spot that would be vacated by the old machine. In my previous blahg, THE WASHING MACHINE, from 12 years ago, I wrote the following: Our bathroom has two closets. The rear closet contains linens and the front closet houses our Washer and Dryer. Both closets have bi-fold doors. The linen closet has a single bi-fold door but the laundry closet has two bi-fold doors that meet in the middle. The laundry closet also contains a shelf with a hot water heater and all of the water and electrical hook-ups for the laundry duo. This limits the size of what Machines can fit in the closet and have the door closed. I’ll skip to the end about the new Washing Machine and how it fit by saying “IT FIT!” Check out the picture to the left after everything was installed properly. The new Washing Machine is on the left in the photo.
So, here’s where things got tricky. The plumbing connections for the Washing Machine are also shared with the dishwasher which faces out into our kitchen. If you look carefully at the picture of our laundry pair you will see a small shelf to the left of the Washing Machine. On top of that shelf is our hot water tank and below the shelf is the rear of the dishwasher. I only mention this because a couple days before our Washing Machine was set to arrive, our dishwasher began to have issues. It would no longer pump out water. I determined it was the pump and because the pump would cost almost $200 to replace and because I wasn’t keen on trying to swap out the pump, I also determined we needed a new dishwasher. Our old dishwasher was a GE which we nicknamed Harvey because it had a small dent on the right hand side. If you’re not a Batman fan then you wouldn’t understand that “Harvey Dent” was the person who would become the villain “Two Face.” Skip it. Harvey was eight or nine years old and we thought we’d replace it at the same time we were replacing the Washing Machine.
You may have noticed by now that I capitalize “Washing Machine” but not dishwasher. I do that for two reasons. First, I respect and admire the Washing Machine that has not given us any problems. Second, respect any machine because they’ll rise up and kill us all eventually. I believe it will start with Toasters and then Washing Machines. I’m not that scared of the dishwasher…yet. I digress. I think we might have looked at some dishwashers in stores but the short version of the dishwasher story is I ordered it online hoping that I could find one in stock somewhere locally and that it would be cheaper than what we had shelled out for the Washing Machine (no disrespect intended Washing Machine). There was only one dishwasher in stock in our price range in all of Belleville. The Brick had a Galanz in stock and I could pick it up the next day. The next day, January 18th, being the day our Washing Machine was also being delivered.
As you can imagine, the evening of January 17th was very busy. I had to remove the old Washing Machine and put it on the back deck because I needed to get at the plumbing section to hook up the Washing Machine and the new dishwasher. I left the old dishwasher in because it still had some water in it and there was no more room for a used appliance on our back deck. On January 18th I picked up the Galanz from The Brick and when I got home after work, the new Washing Machine had been delivered and as a bonus, the delivery people from Home Depot had taken away our old one. I didn’t even have to pay for that extra gesture. It was good that the old Washing Machine had been taken away because that left room for Harvey to be put out on the back deck.
The installation of both machines was not that hard. I had to remove Harvey and then install and hook up the Galanz before I could install and connect the new Washing Machine. To my dismay, however, the water hoses from the old Washing Machine were even older than 12 years because they had been with a Washing Machine we had a long time ago. This meant a quick trip to Canadian Tire to get new hoses. The cost was worth it because when we tested the Galanz and the Washing Machine, everything worked and there were no leaks. I still haven’t gotten around to staring through the glass lid of the Washing Machine to see if my clothes are being properly washed. I trust the Washing Machine. Hear that, Washing Machine? I trust you!
This is where you ask me which machine I don’t love. Let me be clear, it’s the Galanz! It was not a great replacement for Harvey despite the reviews. Harvey had a removable cutlery basket in a recessed spot in the door. The Galanz has a removable cutlery basket in the main lower rack which then doesn’t allow the extra space for dishes. I still have a hard time loading it because it’s not laid out like Harvey but the main problem with the Galanz is that within two weeks it began to have a problem.
Below is the email chain I started with Galanz on February 26th and details the problem with the machine and the problems I had with Galanz the company to try and get the issue repaired:
February 26, 2023
Hello,
On January 17th, 2023 I purchased Galanz Dishwasher GLDW12FWEA5A from The Brick here in Canada. I picked up the dishwasher on January 18th and properly installed it the same dame.
Within two weeks we began to have an issue with the rubber seal on the lower right hand side. The rack would catch on it and the seal would pop out from under the metal strip that held it in place. We would have to pop it back in. This happened maybe twice a week. Today, we tried to pop it back in and found that the bottom rack would still catch on it because the metal strip holding it in place is secured by a metal grommet or fastener at the bottom and now it will not snap in by the fastener.
What can be done to repair the issue?
I am attaching a copy of my original purchase form from the brick as well as a photo of the rubber seal and metal strip in question.
Please let me know next steps.
Scott Henderson Demorestville, ON
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February 26, 2023 response from Galanz:
Dear Scott Henderson,
We would like to acknowledge that we have received your request and a ticket has been created. A support representative will be reviewing your request and will send you a personal response.(usually within 24 hours).
Thank you for your patience.
Sincerely, Galanz Customer Service Team
1-800-562-0738
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February 28, 2023 response from Galanz:
Dear Scott, Thank you for contacting Galanz Customer Service.
Please, share the picture of the label at the back of the unit with the model and serial number, your shipping address, and the best callback number so that we can arrange a service dispatch as the unit is under warranty.
For further queries and concerns, please feel free to contact our customer service team at 1-800-562-0738 or via email at customerservice@galanzamericas.com.
Best Regards,
Anna Newman Galanz Customer Service Team 1-800-562-0738
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My response of March 1st, 2023:
Hello,
Attached is the photo you requested showing model and serial number found actually on the inside of the door to the dishwasher. My shipping address and phone number are below.
Note: I included my full address which include my postal code
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March 3, 2023 – response from Galanz:
Dear Scott,
Thank you for contacting Galanz Customer Service. We value you as our customer and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you are facing with the Dishwasher.
Please confirm the zip code of your shipping address “85 County Rd 15 Demorestville, ON K0K 1W0, so we can proceed further. (note: they emailed me with my full shipping address with postal code)
For further queries and concerns, please feel free to contact our customer service team at 1-800-562-0738 or via email at customerservice@galanzamericas.com.
Best regards,
Carol Soloman Galanz Customer Service Team 1-800-562-0738
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March 4, 2023 – My response:
Postal code is K0K 1W0
Note: I didn’t state the obvious to them that their previous email to me asking for my zip code, which is an American thing and I live in Canada, already contained my postal code.
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April 1, 2023 – Me emailing Galanz again after almost a month with no response
Hello,
I responded to this a few weeks backs confirming my address but haven’t heard anything. Here it is again:
I provided my full mailing address with postal code again.
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April 25, 2023 – Me emailing Galanz more than three weeks later after receiving no response.
Hello,
This has been going on for two months and I have had no follow up regarding the issue despite sending all information to Galanz. What is going to be done to fix my issue?
Scott Henderson
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April 25, 2023 – response from Galanz:
Dear Scott Henderson,
We would like to acknowledge that we have received your request and a ticket has been created. A support representative will be reviewing your request and will send you a personal response.(usually within 24 hours).
Thank you for your patience.
Sincerely, Galanz Customer Service Team
1-800-562-0738
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April 27, 2023 – response from Galanz:
Dear Scott,
Thank you for contacting Galanz Customer Service. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that you faced with your dishwasher.
We have already forwarded your matter to the relevant department and the reference number is 106254. Once we receive the update from the concerned team, we will get back to you. Your patience is highly appreciated throughout the process.
For further queries and concerns, please feel free to contact our customer service team at 1-800-562-0738 or via email at customerservice@galanzamericas.com.
Best regards,
Carol Soloman Galanz Customer Service Team 1-800-562-0738
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May 9, 2023
I telephoned Galanz. I explained the situation and my frustration that nothing had been resolved in almost 3 months. I was told the problem was that there was no service technician in my area. I was further told that the issue had been escalated to a supervisor and that he had planned to call me back that day. I didn’t say how suprised I was or how convenient it all seemed that a supervisor had planned to call me back the same day I stopped emailing and telephone Galanz directly. The person I spoke to asked me if I had received an email regarding a refund or if I had received a refund. I answered that I had not. He said they were planning on issuing me a refund and a supervisor was to have contacted me about this. The person I spoke to said he was going to take charge of this situation himself so I didn’t have to deal with the supervisor. I was told within two hours I would receive an email about my refund. I didn’t say anything about not trusting him or anyone at Galanz but just thanked him and said I would await the email.
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May 9, 2023 – response from Galanz:
Hi Scott,
Thank you for contacting Galanz Customer Service and sharing all the required documents.
We have forwarded your matter to the relevant department for a refund since the replacement unit is currently out of stock. Once we get a response from the relevant department, we will get back to you via email or call. After the verification of the details, it will take 21 business days for the check to be mailed to your address.
Your patience is highly appreciated throughout the process.
For further queries and concerns, please feel free to contact our customer service team at 1-800-562-0738 or via email at customerservice@galanzamericas.com.
Best regards,
Josh Sailor Galanz Customer Service Team 1-800-562-0738
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May 11, 2023 – response from Galanz:
Hi Scott,
We are glad to inform you that your refund check has been issued by our bank. Please allow 21 business days for transit.
If you have not received your check by 6/12/2023, please let us know so that we can further investigate.
For further queries and concerns, please feel free to contact our customer service team at 1-800-562-0738 or via email at customerservice@galanzamericas.com.
Best regards,
Zoey Richards Galanz Customer Service Team 1-800-562-0738
I’m still waiting for my refund. I know that once I receive the refund then there won’t be any warrant on the machine. I’ve decided I’ll try and fix the issue myself and drill a hole and put a screw through the metal strip holding the rubber seal. I’ll seal it with silicone and hope for the best. I’d have done that by now but I didn’t want to void the warranty. What warranty? I’m still not even sure what the Galanz company refers to as a refund and whether it’s a full refund or they’re going to deduct money for the two weeks it properly worked. Here’s where I sum it all up. I HATE YOU GALANZ! I MISS HARVEY!
By the way, Harvey is still on my back deck. It’s hard letting go of the good memories we had together. Even harder is having to lug it out to the road for someone to pick up for scrap.
Little did I know that when I published my first False Ducks blahg, THE BLAHG & THE MOST HAPPY SOUND in October of 2011 that I’d not only be writing new blahgs almost twelve years later but also be continuing to reintroduce forgotten music. In that first blahg I posted about an album by Margaret Ann & The Ja-Da Quartet with the title “The Most Happy Sound.” I offered tracks from the album and some 45 rpm singles by the group. In previous other blahgs such as 12 MONTHS -12 RECORDS – 12 SONGS, 12 MONTHS – 12 MORE RECORDS – 12 MORE SONGS, and my most recent blahg, MORE VINYL & THE GHOST OF THE TURNING POINT I offered up songs from records I had purchased at thrift stores or in used record shops. That most recent blahg also quoted me as saying “I’m only going to post about 7 right now but I’ll look through the stack near my stereo and see if I can do a part two for this blahg.” Well this is that part two…sort of.
I did go through all of the records stacked up around my stereo and I did find some more records that I hadn’t posted about. I found 10 records that have never received a mention in any of my blahgs and I purchased three more records over the weekend. Here’s the rundown with the first ten being previous thrift store purchases and the last three being my most recent acquisitions:
–Les Brown Jr. – Wildest Drums Yet!
–Omega Jazz Band
–Beverly Kenney – Born To Be Blue
–Pete Daily’s Dixieland Band
–Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers
–Climax Jazz Band Volume 1 Stereo
–Lester Lanin and His Orchestra – The Madison Avenue Beat
–Willis Jackson Quintet – Please Mr. Jackson
–Drumsticks – Trumpets – And Dixieland
–Golden Era of Dixieland Jazz
–Dukes of Dixieland – Come To The Cabaret
–Tony Pastor Meets Ike Carpenter
–The Greatest White Trumpeter of All Time Bunny Berigan
I love vinyl records. Some of these old Orchestra and Dixieland Band albums have never seen reissues on CDs or more likely some of the songs appeared in huge volume sets that cost a lot more than the $2.99 a piece I paid for the above records. That price has gone up over the years. Value Village, a big thrift store here in Canada, used to charge $1.99 but $2.99 seems to be their new norm. I can still find some records for $1 at smaller thrift stores but sometimes the records are not in great shape. I try not to purchase anything that skips or if the jacket is split all around. In this blahg, you’re in for some treats. There may be some scratchy sounds or pops and clicks but that’s the allure of vinyl. Enjoy!
First up is Les Brown Jr. with his album, “Wildest Drums Yet!” This is on the Crescendo label.
In researching Les Brown Jr., I discovered that he passed away on January 9th of this year, 2023. Here’s the Variety obituary for him:
Les Brown Jr., a musician whose entertainment career also included acting, writing, directing and producing, died of cancer Jan. 9 at his home in Branson, Mo, his family announced. He was 82.
Brown Jr. was the son of composer and band leader Les Brown Sr., who led Les Brown and His Band of Renown. After the death of his father in 2001, Brown became the full-time leader of his father’s band, continuing to perform throughout the world and in a regular big band show in Branson, Mo.
In his youth, Brown Jr. also worked as an actor on many TV shows and films, including “Gunsmoke,” “Lassie,” “General Hospital,” “F-Troop,” “The Lucy Show,” “Green Acres,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “Wild, Wild Winter” and “The Baileys of Balboa,” the latter in which he had a co-starring role as Jim Bailey.
His extensive music career began with the solo album “Wildest Drums Yet!” and included being the drummer and vocalist for his band the Rockin’ Foo, performing with the likes of Carlos Santana during his touring days. He was also a concert promoter and record producer for jazz and country music artists including Merle Haggard, Shirley Jones, Doris Day, Mickey Gilley, The Lettermen and Loretta Lynn.
He later hosted a national radio show on the “Music of Your Life” network, and most recently a show titled after the Band of Renown on SiriusXM’s 40s Junction.
Brown Jr. was born in New York City in 1940 to Les and Claire Brown. He will be remembered for his love of horseback riding, sports cars and his dog, Romeo.
Brown Jr. is survived by his wife of 21 years, Alexa Brown, daughter Emily Cabral, son Christopher Brown, grandchildren McCoy, Winden and Soleil Brown, stepson Blake Worrell, stepdaughters Kelli and Erin Ellis, sister Denise Marsh-Jordan, nephews Jeff Marsh and Michael Lyons, cousins Teri Brown and Bruce Brown and uncle Clyde Brow.
Now, if you spotted the reference to Gilligan’s Island in the obituary then you’re probably wondering about that. Les Brown Jr. appeared as the drummer Bingo for the musical band “The Mosquitoes.” Remember Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Irviving? Here’s a clip of that fictional band performing “Don’t Bug Me” & “He’s A Loser” from that Gilligan’s Island episode:
From the album “Wildest Drums Yet!” here is “One Mint Julep”:
And the title track, “Wildest Drums Yet”:
Moving on down the list, we come to the Omega Jazzband. I don’t know much about this band so I’d normally direct anyone to the rear cover of the album to learn more. Here are the front and rear covers:
Yes, you probably have noticed that the rear cover liner notes are in German. Here’s the Google translation:
This LP was created in March 1973. Recording time: 3 days. Tape consumption: 3800m. Consumption of drinks: 5 crates of beer. 3 bottles of whiskey. 2 bottles of vodka. 10 liters apple schnapps. Contributors to the Recordings: Omega Jazz Band. Sound engineer: Peter Wagner. Production: James Fruchtnicht. Peter Wagner. Omega jazz band.
John Hendrik from Rias Berlin had written a query looking for the most popular Berlin jazz band. Result: No. 1: Omega jazz band. This result will not surprise connoisseurs and fans, because the happy jazz, which the group has been playing for 12 years, inspires every listener anew.
The band has been playing together for 6 years with Michael (Mike) Littbarski trumpet, Wolfgang Banaskiwitz clarinet, sax, vocals, Cordes Hauer trombone, vocals, Karsten Krempien banjo, vocals, Manfred (Duddi) Duttkowski bass and Hagen Kauffman drums, percussion .
Many titles are from the so-called 20s and 30s. The arrangements are clear and concise, but very modern and cheerfully packaged. “Being there” is everything for the group as well as for the listener. Fixed venues in Berlin are the Eiershell, the Leierkasten, the Quasimodo, the Latin Quarter and Shop Pop. Apart from guest appearances in Sweden and France, the band plays in almost all German cities.
Band leader is Hagen Kauffmann. He collects and smokes pipes, is usually always in a good mood, knows all the bars in Berlin and drums with a beard.
Mike Littbarski is the musical leader of the group. He plays about 500 pieces, loves vodka, coca, pizza, women, needs little sleep and adores Louis Armstrong.
Wolfgang Banaskiwitz, on the other hand, needs a lot of sleep. He likes to eat well, loves France in addition to his music and plays with a beard.
The only pedestrian is Cordes Hauer. He collects wire-rimmed glasses and antique dolls, adores Eddie Condon jazz and sings with a beard.
Karsten Krempien is a wild car driver. Besides dents, he also collects banjos. He likes to eat, but drinks even more and makes sure the group is in good spirits. He also sings with a beard.
Manfred Duttkowski is the bass man -a hobbyist of stature. He always has his tool box with him.
When listening to this record, something of the good mood and the cheerful music will surely stick in the listener.
So, what have we learned? This is a German band and a number of the musicians have beards. Oh, and they had been playing for 12 years. There is a CD that compiles tracks from four of their albums with the title “30 Years of Music.” Unfortunately I don’t know if the 30 years is from 1973 or when they first started playing together 12 years before that.
I did find an image for a music festival poster in 1970 that mentions the Omega Jazzband:
So what about their music? I found it reminiscent of an album I discussed in a previous blahg, ZOEY, FRANK, JUNE & ALL THAT JAZZ. The album was “Radio” by Borgy’s Banjo Reunion. That album actually came out in 1974 so maybe it was inspired by the Omega Jazzband. It’s pleasant enough but I find it a little heavy on the banjo and kazoo in spots. Here are a couple of samples. First up is “Everybody Loves Saturday Night” with a vocal.
I’m also going to offer up “Ice Cream” which I find myself singing lately but not the version by Omega Jazzband. That song will be included later in this blahg but performed by a different band.
Beverly Kenney was not someone with whom I was familiar. The album cover for “Born To Be Blue” struck me as seductive and sultry and I’m a sucker for vocals by singers that were previously unknown to me.
In researching Beverly Kenney, I discovered that her life was short and sad. Here are some excerpts from her Wikipedia entry:
Beverly Kenney (January 29, 1932, Harrison, New Jersey – April 13, 1960, Greenwich Village, New York City) was an American jazz singer.
Kenney’s career began as a birthday singer for Western Union. After moving to New York City, she recorded a demo tape in 1954 with Tony Tamburello (the demo was released in its entirety in 2006 under the title Snuggled on Your Shoulder).
By the end of the year, she moved to Miami and worked regularly at the Black Magic Room. For several months she toured with Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey’s Dorsey Brothers Orchestra before returning to New York. Kenney said “Tommy and Jimmy liked me, but they thought I was too much of a stylist for the band. After a few months on the road, I left, and returned to New York,” where she sang in clubs with George Shearing, Don Elliott, and Kai Winding.
Between 1956 and 1960, Kenney recorded three albums for Royal Roost and three for Decca. Her first release, Beverly Kenney Sings for Johnny Smith (1956), was recorded when she was 24 and backed by a quartet led by jazz guitarist Johnny Smith. She then began a residency at Birdland accompanied by the Lester Young Quintet. Her TV exposure consisted of one appearance on The Steve Allen Show on May 18, 1958, performing a song she wrote, “I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll” and one appearance on Playboy’s Penthouse, where Kenney coaxed host Hugh Hefner into joining her to sing “Makin’ Whoopee”.
Kenney attempted suicide twice and succeeded the third time ingesting a combination of alcohol and Seconal on April 12, 1960, in a one room apartment in the University Residence Hotel located at 45 East 11th Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York.
Very tragic indeed. A beautiful voice who obviously struggled with mental health and possibly addictions. Here’s a video of her during happier times on “Playboy’s Penthouse” and yes you do get to view the duet she did with Hugh Hefner.
I think I’ll let her music now speak for itself. Most of the tracks on “Born To Be Blue” are very lush and Beverly’s voice evokes a sadness that was probably representative of her life. Give a listen to the title track “Born To Be Blue”:
I like the whole album but there are moments of tenderness that are not as depressing and Beverly herself mentions on the liner notes she really wanted to do “Beyond The Next Hill” which is a more hopeful tune.
Okay, let’s move on with something more upbeat. It’s back to Dixieland with Pete Daily’s Dixieland Band
I noticed from the liner notes on the back cover that the musicians varied on some of the tracks. This album was released in 1950 and might have been a compilation but no other details are available. Let’s get back to swinging with the old chestnut, “When The Saints Go Marching In”:
I’ll slow it down ever so slightly with a song titled “I Want To Linger.” And yes wouldn’t we all like to linger longer with this band on a sunny day?
Keeping with the Jazz but travelling back around the world, we’re going to draw on Australia and hear from Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers with their self-titled 1967 album.
Here’s a little bit of information about Frank Traynor from his Wikipedia entry:
Frank Traynor (8 August 1927 – 22 February 1985) was an Australian jazz musician, trombonist and entrepreneur based in Melbourne. He led Australia’s longest continuously running jazz band, the Jazz Preachers, from 1956 until his death in 1985. He founded the Melbourne Jazz Club in 1958. He founded and ran Frank Traynor’s Folk and Jazz Club (1963–75), which played a central role in the Australian folk revival.
The album I’m presenting was only issued in Australia and Canada in 1967. Lucky then, I’m in Canada and found this copy. Here are a couple other finds regarding Frank Traynor. YouTube has a couple of videos of Judith Durham singing with Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers. The first is “Trombone Frankie” from 1963:
Next up is Judith Durham and Traynor’s Preachers performing “Jelly Bean Blues”:
Judith Durham passed away in August of 2022 at the age of 79 but from the 1967 album “Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers” I’m going to start off with a song that I posted earlier in this blahg by the Omega Jazzband. The song is Ice Cream but this time it’s all Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers:
I guess you can see that a lot of the records in this blahg fall into the Jazz or Dixieland Jazz category. I’m crazy about Jazz that way so why not post a song that reflects that? So here’s “The World’s Jazz Crazy, Lord” with a vocal by Helen Violaris:
I’m going to fly back home again to Canada and post the next album from a strictly Canadian jazz band. This time it’s The Climax Jazz Band:
I hope you noticed that the front cover has signatures from some of the band members. There’s Bob Erwig, Bruce Bakewell, Juergen Hesse, Jack Vincken, and Chris Daniels. There are other signatures by Joseph “Corn Bread” Thomas, someone known only as Stephen, and one I can’t make out. Click on the image for a larger version to see the signatures. This album like the Omega Jazzband is also from 1973. There’s a video on YouTube with photos and music by The Climax Jazzband performing “Bloor Street Breakdown.” Here’s part of the description for that video that includes a little bit of history of the band:
It all started on Bloor Street West in Toronto. In 1971 Albert Nightingale, the owner of the Olde Brunswick House placed an ad for a dixieland band for 6 nights a week. Bassist Chris Daniels and trombonist Geoff Holmes applied and The Climax Jazz Band was born. We replaced an act of wrestling dwarfs. A jazzband obviously sounded to be able to become more popular in the general student neighbourhood of the University of Toronto. For about 5 years we played there 6 nights a week in Albert’s Hall. The Canadian Talent Library decided to issue a LP and we all went in the Toronto RCA studios to record. In this clip I play the only tune from this album that I composed. With Albert’s Hall being our basis our band took off in many directions, more recordings, several trips to New Orleans and the start of being part of the international jazz festival circuit. We met many famous musicians and we became the band to record the pilot shows for the TV jazz programs hosted by Peter Appleyard. The permanent personnel in the band at that time consisted of Chris Daniels bass, Geoff Holmes trombone, Bob Erwig cornet, Bruce Bakewell clarinet, Juergen Hesse banjo and Graig Barrett drums.
Here’s the video for “Bloor Street Breakdown”:
In 2000, the CD “The Climax Jazz Band – The Early Years 1973-1975” was released on the Tormax label. It included selections from their first three recordings: “Climax Jazz Band Volume One Stereo”, “The Climax Jazz Band, The Entertainers”, and “I Can’t Escape From You, The Climax Jazz Band Featuring Ken Colyer.” It reproduced the iconic cover from their first album and the liner notes included a little more about the history of the band. The images below are from that CD and you click on them to view a larger image.
I’m going to work a little backwards with tracks from this album because the final track is “Introductory Blues” and they introduce the members of the band. In my mind, that should have been the first track of the album.
The introductory track on side one is a song called “Tight Like That” which seems in keeping with a band with the word “Climax” in their name.
I’m going to sneak in one more track by this Canadian group, not because they are Canadian and I’m showing any sense of national pride, but because it’s “Ice Cream” and why not offer up a third version of this song from yet a third country? We had a version from Germany with the Omega Jazzband, a version from Australia by Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers and finally The Climax Jazz Band from Canada with their rendition.
And now for something really novel. Here’s the album “The Madison Avenue Beat” by Lester Lanin and His Orchestra.
From the back: “Have Fun Listening and Dancing to 58 Radio and TV Commercial Favorites.” There are 16 tracks on this album with the Orchestra swinging the music from jingles for companies such as Pillsbury, Kelloggs, Gillette, Colgate, and the Ford Motor Company just to name a few. I’m not sure if you can dance to the tunes but it’s fun listening. There’s some strange product pairings here. Take this for example for “Chiquita Banana & Beechnut Coffee”. Those two as a combined flavour don’t appeal to me but the music sure does bounce.
Or how about a combination of “Post; Dutch Masters; Mott’s; Tetley”? Cereal, Cigars, Apple Sauce and Tea? Yum!
The next album is showing its manners by including “Please” in the title. Here we have the Willis Jackson Quintet with “Please Mr. Jackson.” “Please Mr. Jackson” is the debut album by saxophonist Willis Jackson. It featured Willis Jackson on saxophone, organist Jack McDuff and guitarist Bill Jennings, as well as Alvin Johnson on drums and Tommy Porter on bass. It was recorded and released in 1959 on the Prestige label.
This is what I call cool jazz. There are only six track on the album and they range from 4 minutes to 8 and a half. Give a listen to “Cool Grits” being the longest track on the album:
We don’t have any Ice Cream but we do have this great Quintet and if asked nicely “Please Mr. Jackson” they will kindly play the title track.
“Drumsticks – Trumpets – And Dixieland.” How’s that for a title? Unfortunately that’s about all you get with this album. Take a look at the front cover:
The front cover lists songs performed but also an ensemble of artists such as Buster Bailey, Vic Dickenson, Marty Napoleon, Arvell Shaw, Rex Stewart, George Wettling, “Pee Wee” Irwin, Claude Hopkins, Milt Hinton. The rear cover only lists other albums that appeared on the International Award Series label. We don’t get a date for this album nor any other information than the musicians and the track listing. Did they perform together or as one collective band? I don’t know. All I know is that there’s Drum Sticks, Trumpets, and it’s Dixieland. I guess I’ll have to settle for that. From the album here is “High Society”:
All of the other songs on this album are Dixieland classics so I’ll offer up the only song I didn’t recognize by title, “Late Date”:
Here’s another album with very few details. Here is “Golden Era of Dixieland Jazz”:
The group doesn’t seem to have a name but there are some familiar names among the musicians. Claude Hopkins, Pee Wee Erwin, Vic Dickenson, Buster Bailey, Milt Hinton, George Wettling all performed on the “Drumsticks – Trumpets – And Dixieland” album mentioned above. The only other thing I know is that the album was released in 1957. It covers songs from 1887 to 1937 and then is released 20 years later in 1957. I think my math is right. Who cares, I was an English major.
When comparing “Golden Era of Dixieland Jazz” against “Drumsticks – Trumpets – And Dixieland” I found that both albums had six songs all the same with the same running time. When I listened to them, they were exactly the same. The only two songs on “Golden Era of Dixieland Jazz” that do not appear on “Drumsticks – Trumpets – And Dixieland” are the last two songs on Side B, “I Would Do Anything For You” and “Birth Of The Blues.” I guess I know which two songs I’m offering. Here’s “I Would Do Anything For You”:
And finally “Birth Of The Blues”:
And now we come to the three albums I purchased last weekend. The first is the Dukes of Dixieland with “Come To The Cabaret”.
Here’s a little history about “The Dukes of Dixieland”:
The Dukes of Dixieland was an American, New Orleans “Dixieland”-style revival band, originally formed in 1948 by brothers Frank Assunto, trumpet; Fred Assunto, trombone; and their father Papa Jac Assunto, trombone and banjo. Their first records featured Jack Maheu, clarinet; Stanley Mendelsohn, piano; Tommy Rundell, drums; and Barney Mallon, tuba and string bass.
Fred and Frank Assunto both died young, and the original Dukes of Dixieland disbanded in the early 1970s. In April 1974, producer/manager John Shoup restarted the Dukes of Dixieland with Connie Jones as leader, leased Louis Prima’s nightclub atop the Monteleone Hotel in the French Quarter and renamed it “Duke’s Place”. The Dukes of Dixieland have not been affiliated with the Assunto family since 1974. The Assunto family has denied giving away permission to use the band name with the new line-ups, none of which have included any of the original musicians.
Luckily, this album was released in 1967 so the musicians should mostly be the original members. As far as I know, this album has never been released on CD but there are a lot of fun tracks on this album. I’m going to start first with the last track, “Hellzapoppin'”:
Here’s a recommendation for everybody from the first track,”Don’t Sleep In The Subway”:
This next album is not even an album at all. It was not recorded as an album and despite the title, “Tony Pastor Meets Ike Carpenter”, the two do not perform together.
The rear cover only mentions other albums on the Camay label. I became a fan of Tony Pastor when I was researching Linda Keene’s stint with Pastor which I detailed in TRACING LINDA KEENE, PART 2: THE MOMENT IN MY LIFE. I have since purchased a couple of CDs of his released on the Circle label and the Collectors’ Choice Music label featuring live performances with a young Rosemary Clooney. I highly recommend them. So, when I saw this album, I thought I’d pick it up. I didn’t know who Ike Carpenter was but it didn’t matter because he doesn’t perform with Pastor. The curio here is that all of these performances are taken from Snader Telescriptions. These were short films of musical performances intended as television filler in the early days of television. Dozens of artists were presented and hundreds of films were made. From Wikipedia:
Snader Telescriptions, produced for television from 1950 to 1952, were film versions of popular and classical music performances. Singers, dancers, orchestras, and novelty acts appeared in the Snader musicals. They were produced by Louis D. Snader, a Southern California theater owner who branched out into television and then real estate.
I found a much more detailed information source for the Snader Telescriptions from a website dedicated to the discography of Peggy Lee. It’s very extensive and informative and you can check it out here: https://peggyleediscography.com/p/LeeResearchSnader.php. It even details the release of Telescription audio on the Camay lable.
Here is one of the Tony Pastor songs that appears on the album but is actually the Telescription as posted on YouTube:
Here’s the actual track from the album by comparison:
Here’s another of Tony Pastor’s telescriptions that is represented on the album. This time it’s “Margie”:
And here’s the audio track from the album:
I’ll present one more song from the album by Tony Pastor with an unknown female singer. I could not find any more information nor could I find the telescription video. The song is “Kiss Me”
To be fair to Ike Carpenter, I’ll present a couple of tracks by his Orchestra. I could not find the telescription video for either of these but I had found references to the fact that Carpenter was indeed filmed for the Snader Telescriptions. The first is “It’s The Talk Of The Town” with an unknown male singer:
And here’s Ike Carpenter and his Orchestra with an unknown female singer and backup voices on “Love That Boy”:
Finally we come to the last album in my baker’s dozen. This is a compilation album of old Bunny Berigan tracks that was put out on the Sandy Hook label in 1982. It has the dubious title of “The Greatest White Trumpeter of All Time.”
I don’t know if the claim of “Greatest White Trumpeter” still holds but I’d have to nominate Billy Butterfield, Ruby Braff, and Bob Scobey. I featured a Butterfield track in my second blahg about multiple found records, 12 MONTHS & 12 MORE RECORDS & 12 MORE SONGS and did a whole blahg about Bob Scobey in WHAT ON EARTH IS SCOBEYFAN? I haven’t discussed Ruby Braff but I recently purchased a double Ruby Braff CD, “The Canadian Sessions” so maybe I’ll talk about Ruby Braff in the future.
This Bunny Berigan album is not the only Berigan LP in my collection. I’m a huge collector of Frank Sinatra and I have quite a number of records of Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey and Bunny Berigan was part of Dorsey’s Orchestra during some of the time Sinatra was with Dorsey. Here are a couple of albums from my Sinatra collection that not only feature Berigan but feature Berigan specifically in the tracks and in the record title. The first is on the Fanfare Records label and includes live broadcast tracks.
The second is on the Jazz Archives label with the title of “Through The Years:”
I won’t post about Berigan’s tragically short life, he was only 33 when he died, but I will let the music speak for itself. I found a couple of old short films on YouTube with Berigan that show him playing the trumpet as well as singing. The first is taken from a Vitaphone short called “Mirrors” from 1934 featuring Freddie Rich and his Orchestra. At the 45 second mark you can see Berigan playing his trumpet.
The clip above is taken from the full Vitaphone short and if you want to see the full version, which for no great reason has been colourized, then you can check it out here:
The second video I found is also of Freddie Rich and His Orchestra from a 1936 short titled “Song Hits On Parade”. It’s a medley of three songs, “You Can’t Pull The Wool Over My Eyes”, “Until Today”, and “Tiger Rag.” Berigan is featured prominently on “Until Today” playing his trumpet and lending his pleasing vocal to the song.
Okay, now some tracks from the Sandy Hook album, “The Greatest White Trumpeter of All Time.” First up is “Running Wild.” This is a song that became associated with Marilyn Monroe when she performed it in the film, “Some Like It Hot.” From October 22, 1936, here’s Berigan’s version:
Although there are no vocals by Berigan on the album, we do have vocals on a couple of songs by Gail Reese and one with Dick Wharton doing the singing. Here’s Gail Reese and Bunny Berigan on “It’s Wonderful”:
The last track I’ll feature from this album is the one with Dick Wharton singing Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust.” Listen to Berigan’s horn on this one. What a thrill!
That’s it for this baker’s dozen batch. I’ll keep on buying records when I find them and I’ll post about them. After all, found music that’s really good truly is The Most Happy Sound. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Here I go being late with another blahg. Really, I had an excuse. I’ve been working hard to finish the last of the audio podcasts for my book, “Pippa’s Passing.” Also, after living with the book for six months I decided that there was another ending or continued ending that was begging to be told. That made a 21st chapter and I wanted to finish writing it and then create an audio podcast of the alternate/continued ending. I have begun posting the podcasts on various sites. So far 17 chapters are available from wherever you stream podcasts. Here are links to some of them:
In previous blahgs like 12 MONTHS -12 RECORDS -12 SONGS and 12 MONTHS – 12 MORE RECORDS – 12 MORE SONGS, I posted about records I had purchased over a period of time and then shared some tracks from the albums. I thought I would revisit that theme. Over the past year I’ve probably purchased another 12 or more records from thrift stores or record stores and haven’t shared any of it. I’m about to rectify that by posting about some recent additions. I’m only going to post about 7 right now but I’ll look through the stack near my stereo and see if I can do a part two for this blahg. So here we go, in no particular order. Okay, there is going to be one particular order and that will be the last album that I will post about at the end after a ghost story.
The first up is an album called “Ben Bagley’s Irving Berlin Revisited.” This was released in 1967 on the MGM Records label. The reason why I purchased it was that I’m a huge fan of the late great jazz artist Blossom Dearie. The album features two songs by her that I had never heard.
From the album here is Blossom Dearies singing on “It’ll Come To You”:
The second selection of Blossom Dearie from this album is “Wild About You”:
Next up is a mix between dixieland and ragtime. It’s “Those Fantastic Charleston Years” by the The Charleston Hot Peppers. This was put out on the Polydor label in 1962.
From that album are two selections, with the first being the title track “Charleston” :
When my daughter heard the above track she said it reminded her of “It’s A Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed dancing on the gymnasium floor as it opened up to reveal a swimming pool beneath and Stewart and Reed eventually fall into the water. Great scene and a great memory.
And now we have “When Buddha Smiles”:
It’s back to the vocals again but this time it’s Mel Tormé. I have posted links to Mel in previous blahgs such as THIS IS 100, PART TWO and MY UNBELIEVABLE LIFE- STARRING ME. I didn’t used to be a big fan of Mel’s but I remember when my children were younger we went camping and we had a portable radio. A station we listened to did a respective that evening of Mel Tormé and I was hooked. When I was in Ottawa recently, I picked up the album “Mel Tormé Loves Fred Astaire.” That’s part of the ghost story I will tell later but right now it’s about the music and Mel. This album is a reissue on the Bethlehem label from 1977.
The original album was “Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire” issued on Bethlehem in 1956. Still, it’s Mel Tormé and up first is a swinger with Mel singing “Something’s Gotta Give”:
Let’s slow things down and listen to Mel sing “A Foggy Day:”
It’s time to swing again and we’re back to dixieland, “Real Dixieland!”, an album by the Rampart Street Paraders.
This album actually appears to be a compilation of tracks taken from two other albums, “Rampart And Vine” (1955), and “Dixieland, My Dixieland” (1956) both on the Columbia label. I’m going to start things off with “Sugar (That Sugar Baby O’ Mine)” from the Rampart and Vine album:
And now one that swings, from the “Dixieland, My Dixieland” album, here’s “After You’ve Gone”:
Continuing on with the Dixieland theme, I want to talk a little about The Firehouse Five Plus Two. Here’s a quote about this band from the Wikipedia entry:
The Firehouse Five Plus Two was a Dixieland jazz band, popular in the 1950s, consisting of members of the Disney animation department. Leader and trombonist Ward Kimball was inspired to form the band after spending time with members of the Disney animation and sound department and finding that they had a lot in common as jazz aficionados. The lunchtime chats escalated into a full on lunchtime jam session as Kimball, an amateur trombonist, and animator Frank Thomas, a pianist, would find they “sounded pretty good all by ourselves.”
The band was also formative in creating the Good Time Jazz label under fellow aficionado Lester Koenig, who managed all the band’s releases from 1940’s The Firehouse Five Plus Two Story, Volume 1 to 1970’s Live at Earthquake McGoon’s. Walt Disney was approving of the band, letting them play at the company’s Christmas parties, at Disneyland, and other social functions, on the single condition that they never fully leave their jobs at the studio.
I think I may have another Firehouse Five Plus Two album somewhere so I’ll look around and see what I have and maybe post about it in the future. Maybe I just bought the same album again. Who knows? Obviously, I don’t! The album I picked up recently at a thrift store in Ottawa is “The Firehouse Five Story, Vol. 2”.
First up is a jazzy song that asks the question, “Who Walks In When I Walk Out?”
Of course, if you’re going to have a song by the Firehouse Five Plus Two then you have to have a song associated with a Firehouse. Here’s “Firechief Rag”:
The next album from which I want to offer up samples is one I picked up at a local pawn shop in Belleville. Greenbacks Pawnshop has a huge selection of used records. I picked up the 1962 album “Billy Eckstine & Quincy Jones – At Basin Street East” for $10.
“Billy Eckstine does some fabulous singing on this album backed by the Quincy Jones Orchestra. The very first track on the album is a favourite of mine entitled “Alright, Okay, You Win”:
I often catch myself singing “Alright, Okay, You Win” because I remember seeing Joe Williams sing this on a tribute to Frank Sinatra back in 1990. Check out this video of Joe Williams’ performance:
This next selection from “Billy Eckstine & Quincy Jones – At Basin Street East” is a bit of a cheat because I can offer up four songs because they’re all included in a Duke Ellington medley. Here are “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”, “I’m Just A Lucky So And So”, “Caravan”, and “Sophisticated Lady”:
Now for the Ghost Story. In the middle of March this year, I took a week of holidays and over a couple of days, my wife and I went to Ottawa to visit a friend and to check out record, dvd, and thrift store haunts. One of the places I love to visit is “The Turning Point” which has a large selection of used DVDs and records. Here’s a shot of the store from the front:
In case you couldn’t tell from the photo, they profess to being “Ottawa’s #1 CD Store”, “Ottawa’s #1 Record Store”, and “Ottawa’s #1 DVD Store.” Oh yeah, and they’re haunted! True story. I think my friend Bryan and I were there about 5 or so years ago and the owner mentioned it to us at the time but I don’t think I ever believed him. Now, I’m a believer.
Here’s a shot of the upstairs where they keep all of their used records:
Notice that all of the records are stacked upright and the centre aisle has trays of these stacked records. I had gone through one section looking for some Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen that my son didn’t already own but to no avail. I ended up picking up the Mel Tormé record I mentioned earlier in this blahg. When I go to record stores I’m also on the hunt for old Dixieland Jazz albums so I had just walked past one of these trays of stacked records and I said aloud to my wife “I wonder if there’s any Dixieland Jazz around here.” Suddenly, half of one of the stacks flipped forward and because I was facing the rear of the stack that was flipped, I ended up seeing the back cover of this album:
Needless to say, I was a little taken aback but was determined to buy this record recommended by a ghost. The official title of the album is “New Orleans Dixieland Superstar Jazz Artists” by, of course, New Orleans Dixieland Superstar Jazz Artists. Here’s the front cover:
I don’t know the year of the record but research suggests that Shalom Records operated between the late 1960s to sometime in the 70s. After finding this treasure, I went downstairs to pay for my purchases and to tell the owner about my encounter with the ghost. He wasn’t surprised in the least. He said this sort of things happens a lot and sometimes it’s a very convenient ghost. The owner said on a number of occasions someone would come into the store and ask for something the store didn’t have but then the very next day someone would bring the item in. That too, happened more than the owner cared to say. Well, it worked in his favour and mine because I now own this record and can offer up selections. The first is a number with a vocal by Sweet Emma Barrett on “Sister Kate”:
Unfortunately there are no songs on this album with ‘ghost’ or ‘spirit’ in the title but we do get “The Saints” which is of course the great dixieland standard, “When The Saints Go Marching In.”
That’s it for this time. I don’t know if there really is a Ghost at The Turning Point but I’d like to think there is or else the owner has an invisible helper. Okay, just one more from this ghost gifted album that I paid for. I’ll close with another great standard, “Way Down Yonder In New Orleans.”
How was your Christmas? You know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have a story to tell. That’s what these blahgs are all about: stories from me. Sometimes what I have to say might make you laugh or smile or wonder why I haven’t gone off my nut before this. Maybe my story might pale in comparison to yours but I’ll continue to offer up my stories and we’ll see how mine stacks up.
This Christmas of 2022 was the whitest I’ve seen in years. I was reflecting on that with my wife and realized in the past five or six years that we have had a green Christmas or light dustings of snow that didn’t amount to much. In fact, the last time we had a huge snowfall was on Christmas in 2017 because I wrote a blahg about it: BEING SICK ON CHRISTMAS IS NO FUN, BUT HERE WE GO. That year I had to shovel out the end of my driveway so my wife could take me to the hospital with the worst sore throat I’ve ever had. I don’t care to relive it so read that blahg at your leisure.
I’ve posted before about my lawn display of Christmas inflatables and things really looked nice until the major snow came and buried everything and I couldn’t find them again until the New Year. I don’t have any pictures of my display from Christmas 2022 so I’ll offer up some photos from inside the house instead.
First up is our Christmas tree. We get a real tree every year but there are no local Christmas Tree farms open in our area. So, this is the second year we’ve purchase a tree from the local Firefighters. It cost $60 but it goes to a good cause. Here’s a photo of this year’s tree:
Notice that the star at the top is different this year. When we plugged in our old star it would not light up and when I tried to put in replacement bulbs, they all burned out. Here’s what our star topper has looked like in previous years:
We had that old star for a long time so it might have outlived its lifespan. My wife went to Canadian Tire and bought another one of the same shape and size but it shone in a bronze colour and I didn’t like it. I stopped at Walmart the following day and purchased the current one. I think it’s nice and the shining whiteness made it feel more like Christmas to me. Maybe I can get the old one working again or we might just stick with the replacement. Bonus marks to anyone who noticed that my 2022 tree was taller and thinner than the one above in a photo from 2018. I’ll talk more about the tree later
I like nutcrackers. There, I’ve said it. There’s something about them that makes me want to collect them and display them at Christmastime. Here’s another photo from 2018 when I displayed most of my nutcrackers:
That wasn’t all of the nutcrackers because I had to put some of the nutcrackers on a speaker and others on the floor. This year I decided to build a little shelf to put on the cabinet in the photo so that nutcrackers would be on display up the wall. Here’s the result:
You can see that there are still some on a speaker and others on the floor. Throughout 2022 I bought about a dozen used ones at thrift shops and they stayed on my piano during the year until joining the above collection. My daughter Abbie gave me the hockey player nutcracker on the second shelf for Christmas and which I picture on the left. I think he’s fun.
The other thing we take pride of in our house at Christmas is our mantle display of Christmas related figures. Here’s what that looked like in 2018:
It’s a challenge to fit everything on the mantle and I usually buy two or three more and try to fit them in. Here’s what the display looked like this year:
Click on any of the above photos to get a larger view. Then you can really see some of these treasured figures close up.
Now, let’s talk about what happened to our Christmas. The plan was to have my daughter Emily and her husband Charlie drive down from Toronto on December 24th and bring my son Noah with them. Well, it started snowing December 23rd and didn’t stop until late Christmas night on the 25th. The roads were closed out our way and the major highway between Toronto and Belleville was also closed. I had a large snowdrift in front of my garage door to the top and I had to dig it out to get at my snowblower. On Christmas Eve, Abbie and I walked out in the falling snow to the end of our driveway and by then it was knee high. Here’s a video of Jeanette and I heading out Christmas morning to clear the driveway again:
Emily, Charlie, and Noah did not get to our house until December 26th so we held off opening presents until that day. I had stopped at my Mother’s house on December 23rd to bring the 28 pound turkey to my house to cook and bring out to her house on Christmas day. It was cooking for 7 hours in my house and it smelled awesome. The bird, like us, did not make it to Christmas dinner at my Mother’s until December 26th. Jeanette, Abbie, and I nibbled a little at it Christmas day with instant mashed potatoes and a little of the stuffing that was inside the bird. On December 26th we had the turkey proper at my Mother’s with real mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots, peas, and turnip along with rolls and three different kinds of of pie (pumpkin, apple, and pecan if you’re interested). Besides my children, my wife, my son-in-law and my Mother, we had dinner with my brothers Dan and Todd and my friend Tom who had no place else to go. It was just as good on Boxing Day as it would have been on the real Christmas day.
Now back to the tree. In 2019 I wrote a Christmas themed blahg called MEATS AND CHEESES AND BABY JESUS. In that blahg I debuted a new Christmas entertainment with the same name as the blahg. Here’s an excerpt from that entertainment:
I should add that I also have a tradition of disposing of the Christmas tree. At the bottom of our property is a creek that runs fast and deep in the spring after the snow melts. Our annual live Christmas tree, after its stint in the house, rests out behind our garage until I can get to the creek in the spring and chuck it in. It’s swept up in the current and disappears. I tried following a tree one year and got about half a kilometer before the creek took a bend through a farmer’s field and was carried out of sight. In my imagination there is a Valhalla for our Christmas trees down where the creek ends or maybe it manages to make its way to the sea. More likely there’s a dam of trees somewhere along the creek route overflowing and flooding the farmer’s fields or perhaps the basement of his farmhouse.
This year’s tree was no exception to the tradition of launching the tree into the creek in the New Year. It didn’t quite work out as planned but I recorded a video of my attempt to properly launch the tree:
I went back the next day and the tree had dislodged itself and was on its final journey. Thus ended Christmas. I guess the theme here is that all good things come to those who wait or Christmas is just as good the second day round. I hope you enjoyed yours!
It’s January 2nd, 2023 and you know what that means? It means that I’m a day late posting my 2023 False Ducks Video Ramble. I recorded this on New Year’s day but I’m just getting around to posting it. That’s pretty good for me. At least I’m not months late which seemed to be the theme of posting blahgs here in the fall of 2022. Oh well, all is forgiven…at least by me. Maybe that’s a resolution to be more forgiving of myself. We’ll see. The photo at right was taken a few minutes ago. Forgive the hair, I just got up from a nap. I won’t comment yet on the ramble. Just listen and enjoy!
Three months ago today, I turned 60. What is 60? I know it’s twice 30. 30 years ago it was 1992 and Jeanette and I had moved back to the Belleville area from New Market. We had our two year old daughter Emily with us. Another 30 years on and we have three children and they’ve all graduated from University. Emily is married to Charlie. 60 is also 3 times 20. I turned 20 in my first year of University. Frank Sinatra played Ottawa on September 11th of that year. I would rather have been at that concert than have been at Trent in September. That’s a long story I won’t retell. Jeanette, my wife, and my diploma are the best things that ever happened to me at Trent.
This blahg got sidelined for a few months. I started writing this blahg in mid-October and now it’s December 23rd and I’m finally getting back to it. It’s been an incredibly busy few months so I think I will wrap up the general theme and get back to the point of things. When I started writing this two months ago I had plans to link it all to a poem I had written several years ago. Let me post that poem then comment on everything. This poem is from September 5, 1986:
to old one
I imagine one day
I’ll be old —
and knowin’ me
one day will be about
all I can hack —
so I’m writin’ this to my old self
not what I was
but what I’ll be
for that one day
I’m tellin’ myself
to be happy
bein’ old
’cause maybe by then
I’ll have deserved that
but now I can’t accord any dignity
in addressin’ my old self
and this’ll only make sense
later on
to an old man
but old one,
that’s you or I mean me,
yer ruptured youth
is writin’ to you here
’cause we’re two different persons
you and me
and you know things
I’ve yet to comprehend
and you’ve forgotten things
I’ve yet to live
but that’s ’cause
yer memory and you
are old old one
and there was a time
when I needed you
to talk to me
and tell me
how I got by things or
over ’em or
through ’em
but that’d be cheatin’
and I matured into that truth
but old one
young one
still needs you
’cause I need to know
I’m still gonna be me
but old me
and someone new to talk to
if only in my mind
when we’re one
so know yer youth
old one
and keep in touch
or get in touch
with this
young one
who needs not to know
you’re old old one
but old enough to remember being
young once
and writing to
yer old self
to hear if
you stayed
old
long enough
to receive this poem
written by
yer young one once
I wrote that poem more than 36 years ago. I wasn’t married. I didn’t have kids and I had yet to start any sort of career. I think I was struggling to find out who I would be. I imagined having the opportunity to talk to my old self and get reassurances I’d be okay or hints about what was to come and how to get through them. I never got the hints. I had to age through it all and figure it out for myself. There were some rough spots but I’m still here and happily married with 3 great children and a son in law (and 3 cats) so I must have fared well.
So why did I get sidelined? Well, my novel “Pippa’s Passing” has taken a great deal of my focus. I haven’t found a publisher so I’m trying to do some promotion by releasing chapters online to read at a few sites. My daughter Abbie has actually taken on this task. First, I asked her to design a book cover. I’m quite happy with it but Abbie is not as enthusiastic. She tends to draw other things and in different styles so she thinks this isn’t her best work. Here’s that cover, judge for yourself:
There’s a rationale behind the image on the cover but you have to read the book to understand. Here are links to sites where the first eight chapters have been posted. New chapters are posted Tuesday and Fridays:
I also decided I wanted to create audio podcast versions of each chapter. So far, I have completed 17 of the 20 chapters. It would have been too costly to hire voice talent so I decided I would be the voice of the narrator and main character, Jeff “Pink” Carter. This meant I had to find computer voices for all of the other characters. I’m happy with most of the computer voices but I’m a perfectionist and I’ve had to mix in sound effects and music. Elvis music features heavily in the entire book. Here is the completed chapter six “Revelations At The Avocado House:”
I’ll continue to work on these and hopefully will find some way and somewhere to post all of them online. I’m hoping this type of promotion might spark more interest in the book.
This will be my last blahg before Christmas 2022 and quite possibly my last blahg of this year. I have no Christmas messages this year other than the same one I quote liberally each year from Sinatra: “In this upcoming year, may we find peace in the world and peace among ourselves.” Oh, and read my book! Merry Christmas!
Almost ten years ago, on July 16, 2012, I published a blahg called SOME THINGS TO CELEBRATE…FOR ME, ANYWAY. I was going to sit down today and publish a new blahg about celebrating things when I thought of the old blahg. Has it really been ten years since that blahg? I’ll touch on a few things and compare it to the previous blahg but there’s some new things to celebrate this time around.
Ten years ago I touched on the fact that my wife and I had celebrated 25 years of marriage on May 30th, 2012. This year, we made it even further to the 35 year mark. It was a very quiet anniversary. I brought home Swiss Chalet and we bought a new Epson printer. I know, I’m still the romantic. I don’t have a recent photo of the two of us together but the photo at left was taken two days after our 32nd anniversary on the occasion of our oldest daughter Emily’s wedding. I think we look pretty good together and we’re still happy with each other…most of the time.
Another thing I celebrated in that blahg from ten years ago was the graduation of my daughter Abbie from Grade 8. This past week, June 14th, 2022, Abbie graduated from York University in Toronto. That’s a feat in itself because there hadn’t been in person graduation ceremonies the past two years due to Covid. Below is a photo of her against the K & U in the York University sign.
The video below is of Abbie receiving her diploma, Bachelor of Fine Arts Magna Cum Laude, from the Chancellor or York University. I had to record the video from my seat and aiming at a big screen. They didn’t want us getting out of our seats to go up front and take photos or videos.
I look forward to seeing Abbie’s next adventure and I’m sure her screenwriting ability will serve her well.
Now for some more personal celebrations for myself. In 2020 I wrote four blahgs about the singer Linda Keene and traced her career through the media and included music files and a link to a rare acetate I had that she recorded for Gold Star in the early 1950s. The blahg caught the attention of a jazz researcher by the name of James Harrod who put me in touch with Jordi Pujol with Fresh Sound Records. They wanted to issue a two CD set of Linda Keene’s recordings and include my acetate. I was also contracted by Jordi to write the liner notes. Here are some pictures below of the set and some pages from the liner notes:
The final thing I would like to celebrate is that after nearly ten years, I have finally written and completed my novel, “Pippa’s Passing.” In my last bahg, from April, PIPPA’S PASSING, I had completed 13 chapters or 57,000 words. The final count was just over 116,000 and twenty chapters. I spent a few weeks editing and doing some rewriting. I redrafted the final chapter after I had an idea to make it stronger. I’m very happy with it. I have been meaning to write this novel for ten years and finally started it in February of this year. It’s a hard process to describe. Once I had started, the characters began to speak to me and told me what to write. I had no conceived notions where the book was going at times but when I sat down each day, the words were there and formed the story. I’ve always had the beginning and ending over the last decade but I had not idea what direction it would take. I’m happy with it. Now I have to send it out to see if I can get it published. I’m thinking of Coach House Press which is a Canadian outfit that I’ve been aware of for many years. I think their ideals and mine are well suited. Wish me luck! Coach House, if you’re reading this then know that I will be in touch.
That’s it for now. Celebrate something of your own…even if it’s the new day.
Hey, has anyone wondered where I’ve been for the last month? Well, I’m going to tell you even if you didn’t want to know. It’s been a couple of months since I have written a longer blahg. The last full blahg was SAY IT AIN’T SO…NO MORE WEEPIES at the beginning of February. I followed that with shorter blahgs about the Freedom Convoy and then telling Russia to get out of Ukraine. Hey, Russia, get out of Ukraine! That’s a message worth repeating.
I had to go back and see if I had mentioned “Pippa’s Passing” in previous blahgs. I thought I might have talked about it in either the 2021 or the 2022 video blahgs but I just reviewed those and there was no mention of it. So, what is Pippa’s Passing? That is the title of a novel I had promised myself I would write one day. I have been contemplating it now for more than ten years and finally in February I started writing it.
My process for writing it is to write one thousand words a day. I thought I had read or heard somewhere that the author Somerset Maugham would write a thousand words a day when he was writing. I’ve also read somewhere that the total was more likely 1500 words a day. My effort has kept to the 1000 to 1100 word count daily. So far, I’ve written just over 57,000 words and I hope to complete it with another 35,000 words. If the average novel page consists of 300-400 words then I’m on track to have a novel around the 225 to 300 page mark. I think that’s a decent length.
So, again, what is Pippa’s Passing? The story is a memoir of a man who learns that an old love has died and he relates their story together from their first meeting in high-school up to ten years before her death when he last saw her. It has some mysteries in it and some connections to Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “Vertigo” as well as references to Elvis. I have written 13 chapters so far and I thought I would debut one of the chapters here.
The background to this chapter is that the events follow a break-up between Pippa and the main character Jeff Carter, also known as Pink. Jeff is a runner and part of the track team. After the summer of 1978 split with Pippa, a new character is introduced. He is a foreign exchange student from Quebec named Bastien. Jeff hates Bastien because he’s now after Pippa and is also competition for Jeff on the track team. Here’s Chapter 12 titled “The Ogre”:
-The Ogre-
Bastien appeared at my locker the day after we had run against each other in the half-mile practice. I don’t know what it was about people showing up at my locker. Pippa had done it on more than one occasion and so had Ben. I don’t remember ever giving out my locker number but the alternative was that they had been watching me or they had shook someone else down for the information.
“My friend, I believe you and I may have started off on the wrong step,” he began.
“The wrong foot,” I replied. “The phrase is off on the wrong foot.” His diction might have been perfect but some words and terms obviously didn’t translate well.
“My apologies, I want only for us to be friends.”
“You said that,” I pointed out. “You addressed me as ‘my friend’ and now you say you want us to be friends. Why?”
“We are on the same team. We attend at the same school. Is this not what you wish as well?”
No, damn it. That was not what I wanted. I had a friend, Ben, and that was enough. I wanted to tell him I had no vacancies but if he wanted to leave his name and number then I’d get back to him if something opened up. I also wanted to tell him not to hold his breath.
“Look Bastien,” I started while refraining from directly calling him ‘bastard’, “I don’t need you to be my friend. If you’re worried that I need one or think you’ve offended me, you can reassure yourself that I’m fine.” I thought that might send him packing.
“You do not like me very well do you?” I thought he shouldn’t ask a question that he didn’t want an answer to.
“What’s this all about?” I decided to be direct. “Is this about beating you on the track yesterday? That was not about not liking you. That was about racing. Nothing more.”
“Are you jealous of me my friend?”
“I’m not jealous and I’m not your friend,” I answered. “You’re just another guy around here.” I gestured my hand to indicate the school. “And you’re just another guy on the track. I’m not losing sleep on you wondering why I’m not your friend.”
“Do you lose sleep on wondering why Pippa Brock is not your girlfriend?”
So that was his game. He really did want a punch in his perfect face. I wondered how much a bloody nose would contrast against his jet black hair.
“What I am and am not to her is none of your business. If you want to go up against me on the track then so be it but I’d stay out of my personal business if I were you. I beat you in the half mile and I can go the distance to beat you here.” Again I gestured to the school.
“Then Miss Brock would be fair game?” He looked very smug after saying this. I was keeping my hands tight into my side. It was hard to resist the temptation to physically lash out. I quickly slammed my locker door and started to walk away. I had only gone a few steps before I turned and decided to reply.
“You know buddy, there are trophies in competitions but just try referring to Pippa as a trophy to her face. You might not like her response.” If anyone was going to hit him, I was going to let Pippa do it. I knew it would have more meaning coming from her. “Oh, and by the way, the term ‘buddy’ doesn’t mean friend either. You’re likely to find you don’t have many of those around here.”
I started to walk away but I just had to add, “and stay away from my god-damn locker.”
After that the game really did begin. He went after Pippa in earnest with a purpose I felt was to throw me off. I tried not to acknowledge them when I saw them together. He obviously had heard about Pippa and I. It was no secret. People had known at the end of the school year that we were a couple even if we weren’t big on public displays of affection. I couldn’t help wondering though how much Pippa had told him. Did he know her other secrets? I tried to put that out of my head or it would have been spinning again with those ‘if onlys.’
On the track, I showed Bastien no mercy in the distance runs. I got to the point where I’d even leave Ben behind. I needed the win. I knew the thoughts of Bastien and Pippa together was getting to me and I had to channel it into my running.
One of the events in the Tri-City tournament was the Tri-Mile run. It didn’t mean we were running a single three mile race but rather there was an elimination challenge of three one mile runs. One contender from each school would compete in a one mile race, or four laps around the quarter mile track, and the winner from each would face up in a fourth race. It was possible that one school could have winners in all three individual races and then face off against their own teammates in the final.
Ben, Bastien, and I were selected from our school to compete in the Tri-Mile runs. Ben and I were fairly good in the distance runs and surprisingly Bastien had been improving his endurance. I was sure that he wanted to best me and prove he was the better man as he was already making time with my girl.
Pippa had become a staple at practices. She was there every day to cheer on Bastien and cheered even louder after I had beaten him by shouting “you’ll get him next time” or “you almost got him that time.” I wanted to remind her there was no almost in running. You won or you lost. Even coming in second was not winning.
Around the school it seemed true that I was losing out against Bastien when it came to Pippa. She didn’t even glance my way anymore in the one class we did share. I had been determined to find a way to get back in her good graces but she seemed to be moving further and further away from me.
One morning she was at my locker again. I gave it serious thought at that moment to request a locker change or to begin carrying everything with me and give up my locker altogether.
“Jeff, can we talk?” she asked with no introduction to why she was even there.
“Are we talking now?” I responded. I guess my hurt was showing.
“Listen, despite whatever’s going on between us…”
“You mean whatever’s not going on between us,” I said cutting her off.
I thought Pippa might walk away. She crossed her arms but she stood firm.
“Jeff, I’m trying to talk to you. At least hear what I have to say.”
“Go ahead.” I crossed my arms and mirrored her stance.
“I started to say that despite whatever is not going on between us, I always thought you were a decent person. Why have you been so mean to Bastien?”
Oh, sister, I thought, you just asked a loaded question. I had a number of reasons I could have given her at that moment but I didn’t think I needed to justify my hatred of him to her. Instead, I chose to answer her question with one of my own.
“Tell me something, Pippa, why do you care so much about a phony like that?
I expected her to react or to walk away but she stayed where she was and remained calm and collected.
“Do you think I don’t know he’s a phony, Jeff?” No one was giving answers. We were just answering each other with more inquiries. “It’s better to know what someone is and work on changing it than to accept someone as honest and then be disappointed by them later on.”
This was where I wanted to slam my locker and walk away like I did with Bastien before. Pippa was obviously still wearing her hurt too.
“Listen Pippa, there’s really only one reason why I don’t like the guy and that’s because you do. I still love you. I haven’t stopped. If you’re with Bastien now then that’s your business but don’t expect me to be happy about it or be happy for you.” That’s when I decided to turn and make my exit.
“You’re an ogre!” I heard her exclaim.
I kept on walking.
A few days after my exchange with Pippa, I had to present something I had written for presentation in our Creative Writing class. We had been studying a unit on fables and fairy tales and were required to write something in that genre. I had been inspired by Pippa’s parting words.
I saw the assignment as an opportunity to pour my heart into my writing. I wasn’t writing it for Pippa but rather as a showcase as to how I felt. My story was “How To Love An Ogre.”
I had written the story in the first person narrative because I knew that no one better could represent the Ogre but himself. The story was about a princess who was tired of the demands of royal life and the expectations of her royal parents. She was tired of unlikely suitors or the possibility of arranged marriages. The princess used some of her wealth to have a tower built and she willing locked herself away from everybody and everything. I felt this was unique because most princesses get locked away against their will.
The princess had sought out the ogre to guard the tower against anyone seeking entry. His responsibilities did not include keeping the princess inside. The princess could come and go as she pleased but when she was inside, the Ogre kept everyone else out. In time, the Ogre came to love the princess for who she was and what she wanted. Above all else he was a friend to the princess who had no other designs on her.
In my story, the Ogre spoke about how lovely the princess was and how he had loved her the first time he saw her but was happy just to be near her. Over the years, the friendship grew between the Ogre and the princess and the Ogre felt being her friend was enough even though he secretly loved her. He knew he was only an Ogre and probably didn’t deserve better. Being near the princess was sufficient for the Ogre.
In the end, the princess finally found true love and married. The Ogre did not become a prince nor did he become handsome by any magic. He remained an Ogre and his true beauty was inside. When the princess had a daughter, she eventually sought out the Ogre and introduced the Ogre as the princess’s best friend. In time, the princess’s daughter came to love the Ogre as her friend as well. It was enough for the Ogre.
After I read the story aloud there was a round of applause from everyone in the class. Pippa was staring at me and I could see tears on her cheeks. After class she approached me.
“That was beautiful, Pink.”
I was Pink again. I had moved the needle.
“Thank you,” I said back to her. I didn’t want to push my luck by asking about the Pink designation.
“Can I walk with you after school?” she asked.
“Okay,” I said hesitantly. There was hope in my heart and I tried not to relay it in my voice. Was this how our relationship was going to restart? I knew there was power in words but I had never thought that it could move mountains. Hadn’t she been rock hard against me in our last confrontation?
“Good, I’ll see you out front, later.” She gave me a little wave and turned.
I couldn’t wait until the end of day. Maybe she was on the verge of forgiving me. Maybe she was going to dump that bastard and come back to me. I should have guessed what was coming.
Pippa found me after the last bell rang. We left the school and I turned left and she turned right.
“Where are you going?” I asked. “I thought you wanted me to walk you home?”
“No, I’m walking you home,” Pippa responded.
“I thought you had a curfew?”
“Not since before my Birthday. I think mom trusts me a little more now after everything that’s happened.”
But nothing had happened. I had never been revealed to her mother as Steve Wilson or Pink or Jeff Carter. Ours had been a private break-up before her mother even discovered we had been together.
Pippa hooked her arm in mine and started to pull me in the opposite direction of her way home. “Lead the way, Pink. I have no idea where we’re going.” Neither did I. She was clearly in charge.
“You liked my story?” I thought that was a safe place to start.
“Like I said, Pink, it was beautiful. I’m sorry I called you an ogre. I said I never wanted to hurt you again and I guess I did.”
“We both did,” I pointed out.
“Let’s not talk about that Pink. I want to talk to you about Bastien.”
I tensed up. Why did we need to talk about him? I thought this was about us.
“What about Bastien?” I asked with caution.
“I want you to be nice to him.”
I stopped and stared at her. She couldn’t be serious. I thought we had had this out. I didn’t like the guy.
“Pink,” she continued, “I know you don’t like him. I’ve heard that you and Ben refer to him as ‘that bastard’. I want you to know why I like him.”
I wanted to unhook my arm but it was the only touch we had shared in over a month. I wasn’t about to let her go. I started to walk again and I was prepared to drag her along if she didn’t move her feet with mine.
“Go ahead, I’m listening.” I was aware that I was not sounding sincere.
“You said he was a phony. I told you I knew that already. The thing you don’t know about Bastien is that he’s capable of being sincere and caring and honest.”
“And I’m not?” I had stopped walking again. This time Pippa started forwarded and pulled on me.
“This isn’t about you or about me, Pink. Bastien’s only here for the school year. I know he’ll be gone by next summer. Until then, I think I want to be with him.”
Shades of ‘Grease.’ Now Pippa was the John Travolta character committing to a limited time romance because she knew there would be no strings attached at the end. I didn’t think she was capable of that role reversal.
“Does he know all of your secrets?” I had to ask that question. If he had that same intimacy with her then we truly were finished.
“No, he doesn’t. That’s why I want to be with him. I’ve carried my secret around for a long time now and you were the only boy I told and look how that turned out. I can just be me with him. He gets to see Pippa Brock as a girl with no baggage. I can just be me.”
“And when he’s gone?” I asked.
“Well, by then, maybe I’ll have become so used to being me, the way I want to be, then it’ll be second nature to me.”
“And then?”
“And then, Pink, I find my next dream.”
“This is where I get off,” I responded.
“Hunh?” she asked puzzlingly.
We had been walking and talking and finally we were standing in the street outside of my house. Ours was a bi-level home. It was a typical one-storey house and the front door opened onto a landing with stairs that led both up to the main floor and down to the basement. My parents had a bedroom on the main level at the back of the house and both Rod and I had bedrooms in the basement at the front. Our windows were at ground level and faced the street.
“This is where I live.” I pointed to the window on the right. “That’s my bedroom there.”
“It’s nice,” Pippa observed. “But what about what I said about Bastien and I?”
I wanted to tell her that her current dream was a nightmare that kept me up at nights. The thought of any relationship between her and Bastien haunted me to no end. The thought of any relationship with Pippa that didn’t include me was even worse.
“That’s your dream Pippa.” I didn’t feel like adding the hokey bit about her following that dream wherever that dream may lead. My comment about ‘this is where I get off’ was going to have to be the answer for our relationship as well.
“I know you told me that you still love me Pink and I still love you. But we can’t be together. You’re part of everything I’m trying to move on from. You don’t have to be happy for me but you’re a nice guy and I was hoping you could move on too.”
Oh, the nice guy routine. That’s exactly what every hopeful love struck teen does not want to hear. I had to be quick and think of something that would impress her to see me how she once viewed me. I needed that opportunity that would drive Bastien away and bring Pippa and I back together.
“Okay, Pippa, I’ll make you a deal. If Bastien can somehow get to the finals in the Tri-Mile race and if I get to the final and if we run against each other and if he beats me, and those are a lot of ifs, I’ll bow out gracefully.”
“And if you win or you both lose, Pink?”
“Then forget about me forgetting about you.” I wanted my own terms.
“But Pink, this is about moving on. I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
“I know,” I replied. “But that’s your dream and I’ve got my own that includes you and I gotta follow that dream to find the love I need.” I guess I couldn’t resist the hokey urge after all.
“Have fun trying,” she said and turned and walked away.
“Oh, I will!” I shouted after her.
The following week was the Tri-City tournament and we were the host school that year. Practices had been intense leading up to the event. Ben and I put extra hours into our training for the Tri-Mile. We would meet up on weekends and in the evenings. Ben and I were very strong in the distance running. I was glad that we would each get separate chances to prove ourselves in the mile run. The only thing I was not enthused about was the possibility of running against Ben in the final. I had been outpacing him in some of the practises but I wasn’t sure if I could beat him when it came to a head to head. I was sure he had learned well and was holding back on something that he would release in the competition.
Bastien continued to improve as well. Sometimes Ben and I would go to the track in the evening and would encounter him running laps. He wasn’t always alone. Sometimes Pippa was running along with him. That nightmare I had been experiencing was taking on more dangerous visions. I had not seen her run since the Harrier. She certainly had never offered to run with me. On those occasions, Ben and I would wait off at a distance until they were finished before we would take to the track.
Pippa obviously wanted her dream to be with Bastien so much that she was prepared to put the effort into training him. That only fueled my hatred for that Bastard more and I was damn sure not going to let go of my dream.
I started a game of intimidation by mixing my on-field running with doing laps around Pippa’s neighbourhood. I would pass by her house, loop around adjoining streets and jog past her house three or four times before heading off home.
Pippa took up the challenge and soon after I would spot her with Bastien as they included going down my street as part of their training routine. She looked good in jogging shorts but the sight of Bastien with her took away from that vision.
The day of the Tri-City was another warm fall day. I wasn’t sure who scheduled the dates for these events but they obviously consulted some reliable weather almanac. The track itself had been well groomed and was sporting new chalk lines for all of the events.
Our school did better in the Tri-City events than we had in the All-City. Collegiate was not one of the schools competing. In addition to our school was the aforementioned Bayside as well as Centennial Secondary. Our athletes were ready and even though the Park brothers were off in Toronto opposing each other, we still had a talented roster.
Many of our new talent finished first and second in their events. Bastien swept in the short track events in which he participated. He had the speed and, thanks to Pippa’s coaching, he had developed the endurance. He grinned stupidly after every win and I was looking forward to my opportunity to wipe that stupid grin off his face. I also wanted to show Pippa I wasn’t done yet when it came to her. She had said she still loved me. That was an opening I was prepared to exploit.
I had not told Ben about the deal between Pippa and I. His relationship with Sandra put him in a difficult position. His girlfriend had been clear with him that the topic of Pippa was off-limits. Ben would not be asked by either camp to solicit information to be passed on. I wasn’t even sure the deal I thought I had made was binding by either side. Pippa hadn’t exactly agreed. She had only asked me what the outcome would be if neither Bastien nor I won the Tri-Mile or if I was the victor. I was the one who dictated my intention if I was the winner. I only assumed with the effort Pippa had put into Bastien’s training that she would hold me to the other part of the deal if Bastien bested me.
The day of the tournament, resplendent in our blue jerseys, I thought I should take Ben into my confidence. Bastien had been successful in the short track sprints and Ben had become suspicious when Bastien had dropped out of the half-mile race. I had suspected that Pippa had advised him to excuse himself and to concentrate on the longer Tri-Mile.
There were only two semi-contests for the half-mile and these, like the preliminaries for the Tri-Mile, had been spaced throughout the day. I had run my half-mile leg earlier on and had been triumphant. Bastien and Ben and one competitor each from the other two schools had been scheduled to pair off in their heat. At the last minute, Bastien had been scratched from the race. Ben and an athlete from Bayside took first and second respectively. The final in the half-mile would consist of Ben, myself, the Bayside runner from Ben’s race, and the Centennial runner who had placed second behind me.
Ben approached me after his heat. He hardly looked winded and I wondered what competing against him in the half-mile would be like or if we both managed to get into the finals of the Tri-Mile.
“What do you think that was all about?” Ben asked me.
“What was what all about?” I answered innocently.
“You know damn well what. Bastien drops out of the half-mile and you don’t blink an eye. You know something, don’t you?”
I decided to tell him what I suspected and how it tied into my deal with Pippa.
“And where do I fit into all of this?” he asked after I had told him everything. “What if I beat both of you?”
“I have a contingency for that. I expect that you’ll give us both a challenge. If you win, you win. May the best man win and all that, you know.”
“But you want to be the best man, don’t you?”
“Ben, I’m not going to lie to you, I want to beat that bastard more than anything.”
“It won’t get you Pippa back. It sounds like even if you do win against Bastien then you’ve got an uphill battle with her.”
“Let me worry about that. You just run as well as you always do. This doesn’t really concern you.” I wasn’t trying to be dismissive of Ben but the deal I had proposed didn’t really include Ben. If I had to lose to Ben it would be better than losing to the alternative.
“The hell it doesn’t!” he exclaimed. “You’re my friend and I’m dating Pippa’s cousin. I’m going to get it from all sides.”
“Not from me you’re not. I’m only asking you to run your race and maybe one other little favor.”
“What’s that?” Ben asked with skepticism.
“Between the pair of us, let’s beat that Bastard!”
I didn’t know if I had allayed any of Ben’s concerns. I knew he wouldn’t throw his race. He wanted to win the Tri-Mile for himself and I was sure he’d provide great competition to both Bastien and I.
Ben and I squared off in the half-mile final and I could tell he was in it to win. I didn’t really care. I had yet to run my leg of the Tri-Mile and I had to save something for that race. I gave it my all and if Ben did beat me out at the finish he was sure he had won it squarely. For my part, I wasn’t sure that he hadn’t.
Ben had run his Tri-Mile preliminary earlier in the day and had finished easily. Bastien, after dropping out of the half-mile had a tough go of it in his Tri-Mile heat. Bastien only managed to just beat out his Centennial opponent to move on to the final. It was stacking up to be a first for the Tri-Mile with all three semi-finalists coming from the same school. It only hinged on me running away with the lead in my contest.
Both of the athletes in my leg of the Tri-Mile had not competed in anything else throughout the day. They were fresh and they looked lean and ready to compete. Lined up against them at the start I could see both of them on either side of me ready to put me through my paces. After hearing the starting gun I fell in line behind both as they took an early lead.
You have a lot of time to reflect when you’re running four quarter-mile laps. Although I was concerned with the other athletes racing against me, I was also consumed with hatred for Bastien and a singular goal to get to the final and put him in his place. I had to win my race because my single purpose was that Bastien’s place would not be at Pippa’s side.
I held the third spot for the first two laps before I began to challenge my opponents. This was more than a race to me. My future with Pippa depended on me not losing. The competition against Bastien for my girl depended on me finishing in first. I didn’t care about the other racers. Second and third were the only options I was prepared to leave for them. For me, coming in second was not winning.
I took the lead in the fourth and final lap and easily breezed in for the win. I was elated. Bastien, Ben, and I would meet up later against each other. As I saw it, there could only be one outcome and that was with me being victorious.
I had watched Bastien off-field whenever he had completed a race. Pippa was there. Students had been given the chance to be excused from classes if they attended the tournament to cheer on their home school. It wasn’t mandatory and there were some who didn’t attend in the school or at the track. That wasn’t Pippa. She was there in Bastien’s corner like a prizefighter’s manager. I couldn’t bear to watch.
My thoughts of Pippa were ever present throughout the day. How could she be with a guy like that? I had been asking myself that question for many weeks. I hadn’t liked the answers she had given. She said he was capable of being sincere and caring and honest. She said it was better to know what someone is and work on changing it. She said she could be herself with him; a girl with no baggage. She said I was part of everything she was trying to move on from and that I didn’t have to be happy for her but hoped I could move on too. She also said she still loved me. I thought that if she could say that to me while being with another guy then brother, that’s when I go to work with a clear conscience.
The time for the Tri-Mile race finally came. My head was swirling with all those answers from Pippa that didn’t add up to me. I was ready for the race but I was having a hard time clearing my mind.
“Gentlemen, it is an honor to have you as my competitors,” Bastien said as he, Ben and I took the starting positions. That Bastard and his near perfect grammar was all smiles. I was harboring such hatred for him that I saw his statement not as a compliment but as a challenge. I think Ben might have said something complimentary back to him but I was quiet and focussed on the race ahead.
There was one false start as I bolted ahead a split-second before the starter’s pistol. We three had to line up again and I was given a caution. I had to settle down my mind. I was so anxious to get ahead and stay there. I couldn’t give Bastien an inch.
The next start was successful and we were away down the track. I had found a moment of calm before the second start and tried to focus on all of the rules of running. I had to pace myself. I had to leave a reserve for the last lap. To hell, with all of that, I thought. I had to beat Bastien. I had to show Pippa up in her little game. She would be mine again.
We all kept pace with each for the first two laps. Ben and Bastien were on either side of me so I could easily see both of them. Bastien began to pull ahead in the third lap and Ben and I kept pace with each other. We had seen this before and knew that the final lap was where we’d make our move.
On that third lap, I kept Bastien in my sights and focussed on not losing any further ground. I had lost so much ground to him already since he had arrived at our school. I had lost my girl to him. Pippa was my girl.
Moving into the fourth and final lap I began to reflect on everything. It all came pouring in. Pippa had said she still loved me. I had written the Ogre story and she had called me ‘Pink’ again. Then I remembered I had only written that story because she had called me an Ogre. The Ogre in my fairy-tale was sensitive and did what the Princess asked and he continued to love her even though he knew she would never be his. Then it hit me, I was the Ogre in my own story.
I had been referring to Pippa as my girl. I had been determined to upset her plans with Bastien for my own gain. She was the prize to be won. That was all wrong. Hadn’t I told Bastien that there are trophies in competitions but he shouldn’t try referring to Pippa as one? I had forgotten my own words.
I began to realize maybe it wasn’t Bastien who should be the focus of my anger. I should have been angry with myself. I hadn’t been thinking clearly at all. Ever since I had met Pippa I had only focussed on how to be near her and eventually make her mine. I had been patient and then thankful and then stupid. After our split I had transformed into a consumed individual who had lost sight of living my own life. Pippa had been my life and here I was racing to stop her from getting on with hers. I couldn’t separate out whether I had done this to myself or it had all been Pippa’s fault.
While this had all been playing out in my head, my body had instinctively done its job and I had caught up with Bastien. Ben was there alongside of us. I snapped out of my reverie and focussed on not winning. It had become clear to me that I had to follow through with one thing I had told Pippa when we last met. This was where I got off.
I began to ease my speed but not overtly. I had pulled ahead but then I slowed and pulled back until I was even with Ben and Bastien. Ben gave me a look and I shook my head ever so slightly from side to side. The gesture was not lost on Ben. He sped up and took the lead only enough to allow Bastien to move ahead in time with Ben’s steps. Around the last corner I made another effort to regain the lead so it wouldn’t look like I was deliberately trying to lose. Ben and Bastien and I kept up a back and forth in the home stretch but we allowed Bastien to cross the finish ahead of us. I knew I was going to owe Ben an explanation.
There was suddenly a throng around Bastien with Pippa in the center with him. Ben and I walked around a little bit and kept throwing glances at each other. How was I going to tell Ben that I had given up? It was bad enough that I had let Bastien win but I had communicated silently to Ben that I wanted him to do the same.
My hatred for Bastien had abated. It wasn’t his fault I felt that way. I had played into the old jealousy game. Bastien and I were both pawns. Wrongly, I began to think Pippa was the reason for all of this. I knew I had been stupid and loved her blindly and the one solid ‘if only’ that ran through my mind was ‘if only’ I hadn’t loved her the first time I saw her.
Everything swelled up inside me and I could only see that my story with Pippa was finished. I saw an opening in the crowd around her and Bastien and I approached them. I was empty and angry all at the same time. I blamed Pippa. I had proposed the agreement and now she had what she wanted. I wasn’t prepared to let her off that easy.
“Is that the deal you wanted or should I have thrown in my shirt?” I asked angrily. In a final gesture to our finished relationship, I whipped off my jersey, threw it at her feet, and walked away.
I have finished Chapter 13 but the next Chapter will be out of sequence and will probably frustrate the reader to no end. I had written the first 7 chapters before I read them to my wife. She has enjoyed them and likes the story but then she’s also my biggest fan. I can’t wait to finish this book and look at having it published. Until then, you’ll all have to stay tuned.
This is going to be another quick blahg. Russia needs to get out of the Ukraine! We need to support the Ukrainians any way we can and then later go after Putin for war crimes.
Little despots who try to annex other countries have always failed in the past.
Today, May 24th, 2023, is my Dad’s birthday. He would have been 86. My Father passed away in January of 2019. I first started blahging about my Father’s health issues in WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. HENDERSON? and then when he died, I talked about his passing in THE PASSING OF GEORGE ARTHUR HENDERSON. I was really consumed with grief over my Father’s passing so I wrote about dealing with my grief in another blahg, ME AND MY GRIEF. Two years later, I started to feel like I couldn’t remember what my Father’s voice sounded like so I found examples of my Father’s voice and then wrote about them in the blahg, MY FATHER’S VOICE. 
They wanted to issue a two CD set of Linda Keene’s recordings and include my acetate. I was also contracted by Jordi to write the liner notes. Here are some pictures below of the set and some pages from the liner notes: 
