WWVA Wheeling West Virginia Capitol Theater And Dave Dudley and Buck Owens At The Trucker's Expo Outside Of Wheeling

Back in the 1970s I went with my friend Bill Garrison over to Wheeling West Virginia to see the Trucker's Expo and the music at the Capitol Theater in Wheeling.
   Bill was going to write it up for Rolling Stone magazine.
So we were able to attend the Buck Owens news conference. Buck flew in and out on a private plane.
   He did a great show at the fairgrounds near Wheeling. Susan Raye was his featured singer at the time.
  
When Bill and I went to the nighttime music show at the Capitol Theater Dave Dudley was the featured singer. He arrived in a long white cadillac with a good looking blond lady at his side. Dave was hobbling around because he had just recently hurt his foot.
He was friendly to us as Bill interviewed him in his dressing room beneath the theater. Dave told us he had been a professional baseball player before he became a DJ and then later a singer and musician.

I remember the trucker's EXPO was outside of town across the river in Ohio. There were not only large rigs on display but companies like Detroit Diesel Allison were showing off their motors.

Dave Dudley had made a promotional 45rpm record for Detroit Diesel Allison singing about what a great motor it was and how it would get you over the steep mountains near Wheeling.
They were giving away free copies of the 45. I got one but sadly let someone buy it years ago. I wish I still had that 45.  It was really good.

Wheeling West Virginia is where Marsh Wheeling cigars are made. Marsh Wheeling cigars are what Mark Twain smoked. A good 5 cent cigar. Or at least that is what I was told or read somewhere. I am sure later in life he discovered the better more expensive kind of cigars.

Hibbing Minnesota Library Bob Dylan Collection Includes A Walking Tour Of Bob Dylan Sites In Hibbing And Also A Good Interview With Bob's High School English Teacher

Click on the above photo to enlarge it.

The Bob Dylan audio tour of Hibbing is very good. It covers sites concerning Bob. Scroll all the way down in the link below to find the Hibbing Minnesota  Library Bob Dylan collection.
Click on the walking tour map.
There you will find the audio tour of Bob Dylan sites in Hibbing.
You will find there also a good interview with Bob's high school English teacher.
The link below is to some real good photos of Hibbing and Bob and his high school Yearbooks.
http://lauriegiardino.com/Hibbing.htm
Click on the name Bob Dylan in the Labels box below to read many more of my posts about Bob

Space Mountain (Lights On) at Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, F...

This is the ride with the lights on. Click on the youtube above to go to youtube and enlarge it full screen.
The two videos below show the ride with the lights off.
   Now I can see what was only dark to me when my 10 year old son and I rode on this back in 1980.
  The two videos of the ride in the posts below this one show what this ride is like in the dark. Terrifying because it was dark and I couldn't see anything. You will have to imagine the shaking and being thrown side to side and up and down since it is a roller coaster. I still dont understand the concept of this ride. Why is it inside a structure and why is it dark? I thought I was going to have a heart attack since I didn't know what was going on. I guess it is supposed to be scary. Well it is.
You can watch the one in the dark below first to get the idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_mountain

Space Mountain Front Seat Night Vision (HD POV) Magic Kingdom Florida On...

I went on this ride in 1980 with my son who was 10 years old at the time.
I had no idea what the ride was all about. I did not know what I was getting into.
   I did not know it was a roller coaster. Or if I did I thought it would be a mild experience.
It was anything but that. I was terrified. It was mostly dark all the way through as I remember so I had no idea of what was happening. It felt like I might have a heart attack.
  I think when we got off he wanted to go again. Maybe he did. I didn't.
  

Space Mountain, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, (HD 1080p)

  

Grits And Grillades At Bayou Bakery... David Gaus (The Chef) Is Serving REAL New Orleans Food

I was in Bayou Bakery last Sunday and David was making a large bowl of grits. Then he put something on top of it. I asked him what it was and he said, "Grits and Grillades(pronounced Gree-yahds).
I said, "That looks good". So I decided to look it up on the web.
http://neworleanscuisine.blogspot.com/2005/05/new-orleans-cuisine-grillades-and.html

I thought I knew something about Southern Cooking and Louisiana and New Orleans cooking but it turns out I know almost nothing. Well almost nothing. I do know how to make some terrific grits at home. I like my grits straight(truegrits) not with shrimp or cheese. Just straight grits and maybe some salt and pepper and butter.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

By the way grits come from hominy which is like white corn. You dont find hominy served much anymore but you once did in the Southland of America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grits

David Gaus is educating me. He is turning out real New Orleans cooking just like out of his own kitchen at home. You might not like it but it is real not fake New Orleans cooking.
When you eat at Bayou Bakery it is like you are eating at David's home from his own kitchen. He is there doing the cooking himself. It is the real deal.
It must be good because Bayou Bakery was packed with happy customers eating real New Orleans and Southern Food.
Check out some of his offering in the link below. Click on it and then scroll down.
http://bayoubakeryva.com/offerings.html


http://myweb.cableone.net/howle/page/grillades.htm

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/grillades-and-baked-cheese-grits-recipe/index.html

etta james I'd Rather Go Blind

My old friend Jim Fuhrman just told me about this song. Jim is the guy who first got me started  listening to really good R&B and Blues when we were freshmen in college.
I had heard good R&B and Rock and Roll in high school like all kids listening to WLAC in Nashville.
But Jim got me onto people like Robert Pete Williams and blues artists. People like Muddy Waters and all the great Chicago blues men like Howling Wolf.
   We listened to a lot of real good honky tonk country also. People like Ernest Tubb and early Johnny Cash and the original Jimmie Rodgers who was from Meridian Mississippi. And the immortal Hank Williams Sr.

Years later I would learn that Bob Dylan up in Hibbing Minnesota was soaking up the same sounds. But his main influences were Hank Williams and Little Richard. Put those two together and you get Bob Dylan.

In his book Chronicles Bob Dylan tells how he wore out a copy of  the Hank Williams as LUKE THE DRIFTER album.
   We had a copy of that album in our frat house in 1958. It was so strange I played it over and over and over. It is pure undiluted Hank Williams. Songs so sad and sorrowful and full of pity that he had to put it out under a different name than Hank Williams. It came out as being from Luke The Drifter. Hank Williams name was not on it.

We had two other albums that made a large impression on me: DOWN AND OUT by Sonny Boy Williamson(including the songs I AINT FATTING NO MORE FROGS FOR SNAKES and DONT START ME TALKING) and LONELY STREET by Kitty Wells.
Click on Sonny Boy Williamson and Kitty Wells in the Labels box below to read what I have written about them before and also to see pictures of the album covers of those two albums.
Scroll down to see those posts after you click on the names.

Scroll down two posts below to hear Etta James sings the great song STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING EVERY DAY. I learned of that song from William Eggleston over the phone one night in 1971. Strange things were happening then and they are happening now. Look for that to continue and maybe get really strange sometime soon.

Etta James - Tell Mama

Etta James - Strange Things Happening (1960)

Well I finally found this song and her version of it on Youtube.

This is the song that William Eggleston blasted into my ears over the phone late one night in 1971. Click on the label William Eggleston in the Labels box below to read all about it. Walter Hopps had called me around midnight from Memphis. We were living in Mobile at that time. Walter wanted Eggleston to meet me over the phone. Walter and William Eggleston were both feeling the effects of alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
The first thing Eggleston said was, "Listen to this M-F".
I listened to some loud singing coming over the phone.

Then Eggleston said , "Do you know who is singing this song M-F?"   He repeated that over and over. I thought maybe it was Ruth Brown or Sister Rosetta Tharpe. But it was Etta James. Also known as Peaches and Miss Peaches.
  Indeed in 1971 many strange things were happening every day. And they still are.

Sanibel Island Think Tank Update January 2012

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Well the Sanibel Island Think Tank has moved across the street from last year when they were in front of Rosie's Cafe. Now they are on benches in front of The East End Deli.

   I went and visited with them every day last week.
 Really enjoyed meeting and talking with them. Great group of guys.

Click on the label Sanibel Island Think Tank in the labels box below to read  my first post about them from last year and see the Photo of them sitting in front of Rosie's cafe.
And also to find a link to a newspaper story written about them which is very good.

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey

http://www.luxist.com/2011/03/18/jack-daniels-tennessee-honey/

I have just discovered Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey. The Sanibel Spirits Liquor store at Jerry's Shopping Area on Sanibel Island had a little basket near the cash register filled with miniatures of this honey flavored liqueur. 1.39 cents each. I bought one and liked it so much just poured over ice that I went back and bought 5 more.

It is mild and smooth and reminds me somewhat of something from New Orleans called Pecan Praline Liqueur.
  Both of these liqueurs are good poured over vanilla ice cream.

 The tops of the little bottles have a honey bee picture on them.

  The store clerk told me and showed me that Tennessee Honey is also available in larger bottles.

Sanibel Island January 10 to January 17 2012

What have we been doing on our trip to Sanibel island this year?
First we rented a car at the Ft.Myers airport and drove to Publix grocery store and bought some fried chicken and a key lime pie and some other groceries and headed straight over to the island.

Checking in to our hotel Rachel discovered she had lost her credit card most likely at the grocery store. We got the toll free number and she called and had it cancelled and that took care of that problema. No problema as they say in Spanish.

Then I took a bath and then headed straight to the swimming pool.
Perfect 80 degree weather. Jan. 10th high temp in the contiguous United States was right here on Sanibel and the surrounding area.

  For our dinner we do what we usually do we headed to Schanappers Hots for a grouper basket. Good fish and french fries and cold slaw.

Wednesday morning was the best day so far. A storm was coming in and we went to the beach in a high wind and the palm fronds were beating against each other and falling from the palm trees.

At the beach we saw the sunrise at 720 am.  And watched high surf and the tide coming in. I turned around and much to my surprise we saw a full rainbow all the way across the sky and the island.

We went to the library as usual to use the computers.

Swam in the pool for an hour yesterday. 80 degrees on Sanibel Island. Perfect weather.
Beach was crowded and colorful.
Snow storm hitting the Midwest and New England.
Sanibel reminds me of the TV show LOST. Hawaii was the real star of that show. And the beauty of both places make them seem unreal. No wonder LOST was set in Hawaii. This reality is unreal compared to the snowy cold northland and much of the rest of the USA. Only Southern California and Southern Fla. and most southern Texas around Brownsville stay in the 70s and 80s this time of year. Also Hawaii of course.

Rachel went to a special tour of the Bailey house and tract and learned more history of the island.

We went to Bailey's Grocery Store and Hardware store and got a few things we missed getting at Publix.
I had picked up a few things at the 7-11 earlier also.

Then we went for a drive throuogh the Ding Darling Bird Sanctuary. Saw the birds.

This morning(Jan.12th)after watching the sunrise at the beach and going for a walk we went down to the lighthouse and saw a pod of dolphins going by. The birds and dolphins were feeding on a buffet of fish.

Then we went to the East End Deli where the Sanibel Island Think Tank now meets every morning. I had gone there yesterday also. I met a few of the old men and sat with them out on the porch and drank coffee. Today Rachel went with me and took some pictures.

Now we are at the library again. We will do the Bird Sanctuary again and then head back to the swimming pool. Today it will be in the mid 70s or higher.
Drove all the way to Captiva and the end of that island and back. Saw many properties for sale.

I will save this now and add pictures and more later.


This morning(Friday)I spent a good deal of time talking to some men at the Sanibel Island Think Tank at the East End Deli. They have coffee and conversation there every day from 7am to 830am.
Excellent Premium coffe also. It was one guy's birthday today. He was buying coffee for everyone. 18 or 20 people. I had already paid. He handed me my dollar back.


We all sang Happy Birthday to him.

What have we been doing. We went back to Schnappers Hots for another grouper basket.
We went to Jerry's Shopping Area today to check out their restaurant.
Bought some food and took it to the beach to eat and were attacked by the seagulls and other birds wanting out food. One crafty bird flew behind Rachel and swooped in and stole part of her pannini sandwich.

The birds were swarming agressively just like in the movie THE BIRDS so we picked up our food and beat a hasty retreat.
Cool today. 50 degrees with a chilly wind. No swimming. It is not really cold it just seems that way with the wind chill factor.
Back to the library twice today. Using the computers and reading books.

Saucered And Blowed ...Lea's Cafe Kirbyville Texas 1952...Saucered And Blowed As In: You Can Drink That Coffee Now It Has Been Saucered And Blowed

An extract from a George Cruikshank engraving showing a man saucering his tea. Click on the image to enlarge it

When we moved to Kirbyville, Texas in the summer of 1952 the first place we went was called Lea's Cafe downtown in Kirbyville. Kirbyville's downtown was only about 3 or 4 blocks long on Main Street.
Leas's Cafe was a good choice because as I remember it was "hot as the dickens" and they served ice tea in the largest glasses I had ever seen before or since.


Later when I went in that restaurant I would see the old East Texas men sipping their coffee out of the saucers. This I had never seen before East of the Mississippi River. They would pour the hot coffee in the saucer and then blow on it to cool it off. Then it was saucered and blowed and cool enough for drinking.

Here is some good info on this practice.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sau1.htm

The above photo is by D.T. Kent

Here is an obituary of the owner of Cooper's Cafe which became Lea's Cafe.

"Lea, Roy G.
Funeral services for Roy G. Lea, 59, of Kirbyville was held Friday at Causey�s E.E. Stringer Funeral Home with Paul Bailey, Church of Christ minister, officiating. Interment was in Kirbyville Cemetery. Pallbearers were J.B. Sanders, B.C. Woods, James Bateman, Jeptha Stark, C.B. Herndon and O.L. Smith. Mr. Lea died at his home at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, August 1, 1979 after a sudden illness. He was a native of Simpson, La., and was reared by his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Cooper, after the death of his parents. He owned and operated the Cooper or Lea Cafe for 26 years. He was presently employed at the Texaco Security Guard. He was a veteran with five years service during World War II. He is survived by his wife, Beulah Prevost Lea of Kirbyville; two daughters, Sherry Matthews of Lumberton and Maggie Accord of Kirbyville; two sons, Robert G. Lea and James Lea, both of Kirbyville; two sisters, Ferrelle Rischard of Kirbyville and Theda Walters of Port Neches; a brother, Weldon Cooper of Charlottesville, Va.; and five grandchildren."

At another cafe in Kirbyville, Texas I ordered a hot dog. It was served on a place covered in chilli and I was given a fork with which to eat it. 

I kind of like the idea of coffee being served in real cups and real saucers.

Now most places only use styrofoam coffee cups(McDonald's wraps the styrofoam cup in paper on the outside of the styrofoam) with plastic tops on them. The rationale is that it keeps the coffee hot longer and it also allows people to take it out and drink from the cup in their cars.
But as someone else has noted there are far too many people walking around drinking out of paper and styrofoam cups. I think it was Nora Ephron who wrote that.

Also the younger generation are not all drinking coffee any more. Some of them drink Diet Coke for breakfast. Incredible but true.

  Little do they know that WW2 was won by(among other things) our soldiers drinking black coffee and smoking cigarettes.
I gave up cigarettes in 1969 but I still drink coffee. Most times I drink it black but sometimes I will add milk and sugar.

  As for ice tea with lemon it is a great summer drink. In 1964 I was hitch hiking to New York with Jack Newell and when we got to Meridian in June of that year it was really hot. We went in the Davis Grill and I ordered iced tea. Jack asked me why I ordered iced tea. To him the only drink to have at that time was a beer.
Many years later Jack gave up alcholic drinks in all forms.
But nobody ever gives up iced tea.

The Book House..The Last Bookstore Or The Last Little Independent Bookstore In Arlington, Virginia

As far as I know The Book House is the last little independent bookstore in Arlington, Va. All the rest have  closed down and just do business via the internet.
I have seen Ed Hughes around for years at booksales, garage sales, estate sales, library sales, etc. He is very quiet and in apparently great shape for someone who is 91 years old.
The Book House is small and in an out of the way place. I have been in there a few times over the last 20 years or so. I have never seen anyone in there except for the owner Natalie Hughes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/venerable-bookhouse-prepares-to-close/2012/01/03/gIQAHAPGZP_story.html

Waffle House Key West Florida

Orin tells me this is a great place. He knows everyone that works there. One waitress makes him special tropical fruit waffles with mangos,etc.

   http://www.yelp.com/biz/waffle-house-key-west

Beautiful Sunrise Over Washington D.C. Area And Arlington, Virginia This Morning

Photo by A B Pan. See her facebook page for info and the many good comments she has recieved.
http://www.facebook.com/abpan#!/photo.php?fbid=268916233171368&set=pu.100205346709125&type=1&theater

I was up early this morning before daybreak. I went for a walk to a higher elevation to get a better look at this spectacular sunrise that was happening around 7:10 a.m.
The bright red color before the sun came up was being reflected off the overhead clouds making for a special sunrise. The kind people see every day in Florida but not so often around Washington D.C.

Below is a link to a page with many more photos of this morning's sunrise by other people.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/sunrise-sunset-spectacle-in-washington-dc-photos/2012/01/06/gIQAlWoveP_blog.html?wprss=capital-weather-gang
 The one below which is from the link above is the most like what I saw this morning.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Street Furniture in Paris

This is one of the best videos about Paris I have ever seen. But then all of this person's videos about Paris are great. Click on YouTube to go to You Tube and see all their videos of Paris.
And be sure and click on the Closed Caption to see and read all their good information about what you are watching.

You Don't Have To Pay To Pee In Paris Anymore

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanisette
It used to be after they removed the old pissoirs it was hard to find a place to pee for free in Paris. There were pay toilets in or near the Metro stations. And if you went in a bar or restaurant to use the bathroom you were expected to buy something. I think they had pay toilets in the McDonalds.

Now there are free Sanisettes. They started out as pay toilets but now the city has made them all free.
But you may have to stand in line and wait as people can use them for up to 20 minutes. So the line outside backs up and some people give up and walk off.

The Last Old Time Public Urinal Or Pissoir Left In Paris France Outside La Sante Prison on Boulevard Arago

This is the last of the old time urinals in Paris France. It is on the Boulevard Arago near The La Sante Prison. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
I remember using these in Paris when I was there in the summer of 1964. They were easy to use. I miss them because they were a bit of the old time Paris. There is only one left now but it is still in use. I am glad they left one. I went to Google maps and got a street view of Blvd. Arago by the La Sante Prison and after looking up and down the street found the last old time pissoir and was able to see it clearly via  Google street view.

The following is quoted from the wikipedia entry on urinals.

"A city famous for its street urinals is Paris, France. Until the 1990s, street urinals were a common sight in the city, and in the 1930s more than 1200 were in service. Parisians referred to them as vespasiennes, the name being derived from that of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, who, according to an anecdote, imposed a tax on urine. Beginning in the 1990s, the vespasiennes (renowned for their smell and lack of hygiene) were gradually replaced by Sanisettes. Today only one vespasienne remains in the city (on the boulevard Arago), and it is still regularly used. They still exist in other French cities, and in other countries. Central Amsterdam has a number of strategically-placed street pissoirs.”

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pissoir


http://www.atkielski.com/PhotoGallery/Paris/General2/VespasienneSmall.html

http://www.pariscool.com/english/picture.php?cat=1&image_id=14&expand=3,1

The Song That Kept Bob Dylan From Apprearing On The Ed Sullivan Show In 1963 Bob Dylan Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues Live at Town Hall 1963 (8/25)

The above song is from the Town Hall Concert in New York City April 12th 1963.

The quote below is from the wikipedia entry on The Ed Sullivan Show.
"Bob Dylan was slated to make his first nationwide television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on May 12, 1963, and intended to perform "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", a song he wrote lampooning the John Birch Society and the red-hunting paranoia associated with it. During the afternoon rehearsal that day, CBS officials told Dylan they had deemed the song unacceptable for broadcast and wanted him to substitute another. "No; this is what I want to do", Dylan responded. "If I can't play my song, I'd rather not appear on the show." He then left the studio, rather than altering the act."


Bob Dylan never appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.