Jumpin' At The Woodside

I was inspired tonight by the post of ol' Lazy Acres' photo on FB and the simple tagline "Headed home." What follows is fictional. Headed Home Headed home into the sunset, headed into the unknown. All the while the feeling of comfort surrounds me, soothing like a warm blanket on a chilly evening, a cool drink on a summer’s day or the smell of warm apple pie on a fall afternoon. Can I get to where I hope to be? Can the I-we in me find the dream I share with mothers and fathers who came before? Can we find the “home” wherever we find ourselves flaps up and wheels down? We’re on the approach, sinking in, the ground’s coming up fast, but there’s time. There’s always time. Time enough to find our piece of the pie. Time to find the corner of the earth we call me, mine, ours. Time to take in that sun set; time to grab the sparkle in the eyes of young ones growing up too fast. Can we make it last? Pulling up at the gate, grab my belongings and start for the door. Walking, not...

The Marvin Gaye version popped up on the iPod and made me think of Jack Black's version in "High Fidelity." - Salud!

I wrote this piece kind of as a goof awhile back when I lived in Boston. Later when I moved down to PA, I recorded my reading of it with some help from The Monkey. I added some music and before I knew it I had this quirky, funny little recording. I created this video slide show to go along with it so I could post it to YouTube and share with all of you. - Salud!

Ah, Friday once again old chums and new ones too. Happy Friday evening, welcome to it! Looks like we're in store for a rainy night, but that's OK. Tonight's brew is Harpoon's 100 Barrel Series #31: Single Hop ESB . It's crafted using one hop varietal, Delta, and it's a brand new American-grown hop to boot. It tastes hoppy and malty all at once! Every now and then a track pops up on iTunes that I haven't heard in awhile. Last night was just such an occurrence. Jordis Unga's version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley" from the show Rock Star INXS came on and I was reminded of how much I loved her voice. She has an amazing rock 'n roll voice, and she looks even better now than she did four years ago. She's still doing her thing locally, but too bad she can't find a larger market. She's still young so hopefully things will turn around for her. In Other News... I've been trying to get back into my writing recently, and I'm ...

I used to carry CDs to work in a big black binder, maybe 25 or so. Before that, I guess I had a plastic rack full of cassettes I'd leave in the car, ever careful not to let them melt in the sun. I'd use my finger or a pencil to wind the the tape back into the cassette after the player yanked it out. I had vinyl records and 8-track tapes, each with their own dilemma - scratches and dust, or tapes eaten by hungry stereos - things we don't have to deal with today. Today's electronic world, a world so wired almost silly to even say the word "electronic." It's not needed, it's a given. Today I carry my entire music collection in a wallet-sized gizmo, about 4,000 songs worth. Friends, are they real or just the Facebook-Twitter kind? I used to drive about 15 miles to work and some days it took almost two hours. Before that I took the train, listened to a CD or a cassette and kept my eyes on the floor. Good to drive a car now, no longer a sardine in a tr...

Happy Friday! Chillin' at the Woodside this evening with a little taste of fall. Certainly not from the weather as it was hot, humid and got into the upper 80s possibly low 90s here today. The "taste of fall" comes from Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest series ale crafted from fresh New Zealand hops, where yes you guessed it, it's fall down there! Great tasting smooth brew and worth checking out if you enjoy their Harvest series ales. I've also been enjoying the artwork Sierra Nevada has been updating on their labels lately. They seem to be overhauling the label for each seasonal's release, and the beer's not bad either. Last night I was at the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs vs. Charlotte Knights AAA ballgame, and Oliver North threw out the ceremonial first pitch. "Lt. Col. Ollie North" is in town for the NRA convention this week. Michael Phelps is also in town for the 26th Annual Charlotte UltraSwim , but he wasn't at the game. A...

Ah Sweet Friday, why do you always seem so so far away and yet here you are again... hoooo-doggie! Happy Friday to all y'all. Tonight's selection is a Tetley's English Ale. It has to be at least 15 years since I had one of these. Very smooth and you can never go wrong with the "widget" -- makes it taste as if it was poured from the tap. Looks to be great weather for the Quail Hollow Golf Championship in town this weekend. I attended a couple times in past years, but looking forward to kicking back and catching some of it on the tube. Speaking of kicking back, Michele borrowed my copy of Bret Easton Ellis' " The Rules of Attraction " last night, and she was able to spend a good deal of the afternoon engrossed in its pages. Ellis also penned "Less Than Zero" and I thought both books were superior to their movie adaptations. It's been awhile, but I recall reading "The Rules of Attraction" at least twice. I really liked how each ...