Reunion Trilogy Episode Two - It’s Something to Read!

                                    It was a night of…
                      #SpecialMemories

Tell me, WHat do YOU remember about the Town Club Party?

Me?? Well I’ll tell ‘ya...

What I remember the most about that night was when the DJ played, ‘Race With The Wind’, by Milwaukee’s own…The Robbs. It’s a good song, but it brings back painful memories of a certain 1968 St. Monica’s CYO dance my psychologist doesn’t approve of me reliving. So I fled the dance floor and rushed into the bar. I got there just in time to grab the last stool and see Bill Crowley and school president, Leanne Giese walk in. They were just hanging around at the end of the bar without a drink in their hands. I looked over at the bartender and gave her the universal “high-sign” - an unspoken language among us food service alums that says; Oh miss! A round of Old Fashioneds for my friends please!  

It was nice that the school VIP’s came out for our party first instead of other classes’ who had booked the hipper places down in the Third Ward. But isn’t the Third Ward becoming just a little too tedious?  Just sayin’.

Just then, the Club brought out its signature appetizer; a huge patter laden with fresh ground sirloin, sliced Vidalia onions, crusty seeded rye bread and of course…a pile of golden brown, deep fried cheese curds. Damn it’s great to be back in Milwaukee!  Unfortunately, I lost most of my food tokens to my friend Bob playing bar dice.  Good news was I had just enough left for a Cannibal Sandwich, and maybe a trip later on to the dessert trough. I dashed over to the card table and quickly loaded up a plate just before my other friend Bob could get there and snag all the tastiest curds.

Getting back to my stool, I heard raucous laughter coming from the end of the bar. What did I see but Mr. Dominican doing a stand-up comedy routine for all my classmates with his, (apparently), hysterical story of how in 1967, he gave me a C in Biology and Phys. Ed!  Can you even imagine??

 Then, while still nursing the drinks I bought them, Bill & Leanne launched into a string of one-liners about my Extra Curricular's that had the room in stitches!  Another friend named Bob said it reminded him of the wild night in Thailand when he was backstage at the Bob Hope & Ann-Margret USO show.

After dinner, while enjoying heaping bowlfuls of the Club’s famous Lime Jell-O & Miracle Whip Compote, Bill apologized for the incident in the bar, admitting that maybe some of the clubs listed on my official transcript really did exist, but since he never paid any attention to the PA announcements I made, he never knew for sure either way!  But seriously... The Ushers Club??

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leanne give Bill the high sign - which in this case translated to; It’s time to go to the Class of ’79 party at the Earl Scheib Banquet Hall on North Teutonia.

As I walked them to the door, Bill said,

“You know Murph, MATC would’ve accepted you without padding your transcript.”

“True, but not UWM. And wasn’t that your alma mater?”, I said with a grin.

"You realize no UWM alum has ever received the Dominican High School Distinguished Alumni Award.”

“Haha! Gotcha Bill! I gra—"

“—I know.  Nor will any graduate of the SEC!”

“Well played sir…well played.”

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You too will have an unforgettable evening of 

#Special Memories, all for the small price of an Old Fashioned. 

Have you registered yet?

OMG it's totally EASY!  Just go here:

https://dominicanhighschool.ejoinme.org/50yearreunion

Use your credit card and you're DONE!

It’s going to be a great party.

See you there!

Moon River, Yogi the Bear and me

What's that man movin' cross the stage?
It looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page
Its like a relic from a different age
Could be . . . . . Ooo-Ee . . . . 

"Rock Show"
Paul McCartney & Wings

Jimmy Page turned 75 today. Wow!

That got me to thinking about music and some idle thoughts and musical memories stashed away, just looking for a good excuse to come out…Like this example here…
I can remember the first time I ever heard the classic orchestral version of the Henry Mancini song, “Moon River”.  Thing is I didn’t know the song was named Moon River until I heard Andy Williams singing it on TV.

But to the point: The day I first heard Moon River was a Saturday. I was maybe 11-12 years old and I was dressed in a Yogi Bear costume - giant Yogi head and all!  I was a Boy Scout and there was some giant Scouting event down at the old Milwaukee Auditorium. I think I was picked to be Yogi because I fit into the costume less badly than other kids. Someone was Booboo Bear and there were lots of other kids in cartoon costumes. 

I remember that HUGE bear head was hot and it stank and the suit was WAY too big and I was dragging fabric around on the floor.  I had one job to do: “Listen kid, when the music starts, you just start skipping and you skip right out that door over there and skip all the way across the main floor, over to the door on the other side and all the other kids will follow you! Got it? Great!”
And so we waited, and we waited. And then! OMG…It’s Moon River!!  And out the door I skipped and the crowd went wild!!  True story.


FYI:  My iTunes folder has 2,631 items, which they say equals 7.3 days of listening pleasure!  And of those items, a good number of them feature Jimmy Page.

Jimmy Page: Simply a Guitar God

A Les Paul guitar

Marshall stacks

No back-up singers

No extra guitar players under the stage

No changing guitars every song

No hundreds of effect pedals

A far more humble version is me and my Strat.  This Strat is my sixth and probably last ax - though never say never. I did just switch to lighter gauge strings: 07- 38...easier on the old hands!






Led Zeppelin

I’ve got no recollection of when I first heard the Zeppelin tracks, but it had to be listening to Bob Reitman on FM radio. I don’t remember buying the album - though I was probably the first person in school who did.  Likely I picked it up at the “1812 Overture” record store on Brady Street. 





Meet the Beatles

True: there were earlier releases in Britain. But in Milwaukee, this was all we knew. And I know exactly when I heard my first Beatles song:  It was Christmas, 1963. I had just returned home from Florida. We were all in the grand living room, with the huge Christmas tree. The AM/FM table radio was playing, when my brother Denny said, “Have you heard this song?!?!” I hustled over to the radio, raised the volume and we gathered round to listen to, I Want to Hold Your Hand.





The Byrds
I had a grade school friend by the name of Dick Wing.  He invited me over to his house. He played me this album. 
And that was the last I ever saw of the guy. I wonder if he still has that album?
















The DC 5

Growing up, there was a summer Youth Center at Shorewood High School.  Sort of a soda pop and candy shoppe for bored kids - which I was. Example: I’d walk up to the school and hit tennis balls off a big brick wall of one of the buildings.  Then I’d go inside and grab a soda or maybe a popsicle. I’m sorry…do you think a popsicle is “lame"?? SHUT UP... It was summer and I was HOT!  Point is, I distinctly  remember hearing the DC5 pounding out Bits and Pieces.  

California Dreamin’

I had a cheap AM transistor radio, complete with white ear plug. I’d tote that thing around and use it to listen to Braves and Packer games and also music.  I didn’t make the basketball team, but Coach Harwood said I could be the Manager - which meant I could hang out with my friends, but just not suit up. Anyway…there was always a practice, or game on Saturday mornings. I couldn’t drive, so I had to hump it up to school on the city bus: Oakland Ave. to the Hampton Ave layover: then transfer to the next bus up Hampton, then to Marlborough Dr., then left on Silver Spring. It was a long ass ride on Saturday mornings!  PLUS it’s Milwaukee in the winter, so it’s COLD!!  Whenever I hear California Dreamin’ these days, I can smell the cold winter air mixed with diesel and the icy feel of a bus seat rumbling up Oakland Ave. with the ear plug jammed in listening to... 🎶 All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey!

BS & T

I think it was Senior year of high school. There was something of a multi-purpose converted classroom, that had some record players, books, art crap….was it the Library?? I’m not sure I was ever even inside the Library.  I think it was the old Language Lab converted into a hangout for displaced students; which was usually me. 
Anyway…I can vividly remember being in that room one day, sitting with my friend Peggy*.  I have no idea how it came to be that she had this album in her hands. Who knew you could bring records to school?? Regardless, she asked me what I thought of the group.  Being totally engulfed by the music of Guitar God Jimmy Page, I said something to the effect of, “BS&T sucks!”
She put the album on a turntable and together we listened with earphones to side one. Not bad…not bad. I still say "Chicago CTA" was better, but BS&T got a Grammy. 

*Another one of the unlucky girls who didn’t answer the phone the night I worked up the courage to call.

That’s all folks! 

Reunion Trilogy Episode Three: It’s Something to Hear!

Welcome to... 

The Story of Us - An American Tale

Here's the third and final installment of the trilogy. It's a very special audio drama that carries us from the cloistered hallways of Whitefish Bay Dominican High School, to the edge of the Rocky Mountain front range, and then back again to the lush fairways of Ozaukee Country Club.  It’s a sweeping, twenty year saga of young lives intertwined by a peculiar seminal event. Listen as the cast takes you on their journey of dark secrets, self discovery and ultimately, reconciliation.

A story as old as time - as big as all outdoors!

“So we skipped our Lamaze class and headed to Ozaukee for a couples massage."

At the bottom of this page is a link to the SoundCloud website for the 7:56 min. audio. Think of it as a short chapter from an audio book.

Scroll down through these materials and become familiar with some of the references - then, enjoy!

 Mateus Rose

The Chi Omega sorority house, DU

Hillbilly bread

My Ham & Cheese has a first name!

The Cast

Mr. Crowley: Why is my frog smoking a cigarette?!

The firm steady hand of Cathy-Fran

Debbie

Mr. Kippy

...and Robert Hoeller as, Kinetic Boy

The kinetic energy of a man is defined as the work needed to accelerate his body while madly dancing on top of Mr. Crowley's lab table. In this case, the man maintained his kinetic energy until his speed changed - which occurred when he was abruptly stopped by the floor — when he fell. LISTEN FOR MORE DETAILS!

Also lending their voice talents to our story are:

The ebullient Bob Steggert
The foamy Maureen Crowley 
The pelty Mackensie Pelicano 
The gladiator Peter Graves and, 
The always elegant Maureen Miller

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The Action

Scene One 

Friday afternoon February 20th, 1970 

Denver, Colorado bus terminal

Scene Two 

Later that same day

The Chi Omega house / The University of Denver 

Scene Three 

That evening

Flashbacks & Secrets

Biology class and the Senior Class lounge / Feb 1969 

Scene Four

Later that night

 The Chi-O kitchen incident

Scene Five

August 1989

Ozaukee Country Club, Mequon, WI

Confessions & Reconciliations

** Closing Credits & Cast Introductions **

** Epilogue **

And remember - it ain’t over til it’s over

*************************************

And without further a do... here it is!!  

Just like a podcast or audio book; headphones, or ear pods are highly recommended.

7:56 minutes - a mere 45 seconds longer than Hey Jude, but more than 8 minutes shorter than In A Gadda Da Vida - you can thank me later.

Click the red arrow, or red SoundCloud links and enjoy!

drag on the lines to reverse or fast forward

*********************

Careful the tale you tell
That is the spell
Children will listen

I Owe Amber A Round

Apparently I’m now the proud owner of a bar tab (maybe a large one), at the Dinghy Dock Bar, in Sint Maarten.

That’s right…I have a tab at a bar I haven’t been to (yet), 1,600+ miles from Greenville, SC where I live, (now).
Now, I’m no stranger to international bar tabs. I still can’t go back to Marbella, but at least I was there that night. I know this because when I woke up the next morning on the train to Madrid, I found a crumpled up cocktail napkin in the front pocket of my jeans. It was from a seedy dive bar on the backstreets of the Puerto Banús (great place!)  'Someone' had written on the back of the napkin; Don’t forget to wake up Dale!  Looking around the 1st Class couchette that Anita had reserved for the three of us, and seeing just the two of us, it was evident that ‘someone’ had forgotten to wake up Dale!  Oops!  muwawaahaha!

But back to Amber at the Dinghy.

All of this began with my friend - let’s just call him, 'Bob Shmeggert'. It wouldn’t be right to tell you his real name and then lose sleep because I exposed him, (and his unlicensed dog), to any number of Federal banking and tax agencies and probably INTERPOL as well. 

Anyway, against all odds, Hurricane Irma, and other existential crises, Mr. Shmeggert built for us, his best friends, a fantastic home away from home on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten.

The pool, located just outside the formal guest bedroom known as, 'The Monkey Room' is a mixture of Blue Agave Tequila, some water for buoyancy, and a variety of liquified cannabis distillates.

And on that island there's a bar. You guessed right, it’s the Dinghy Dock Bar.  
And who did Mr. Shmeggert meet at that bar?  That’s right; he met Amber. 
And what happened next is admittedly a matter of conjecture, but it’s based on many, many years of empirical observations. 

A man walks into a bar, hungry & thirsty...and likely zonked. 
All he wants is a tasty burger, some cold beer and a game on satellite TV. [Note: what happens next is what we call: The Matter of Conjecture, but trust me when I say it’s 99% certain)

As he finishes his burger, some people sit down next to him. He overhears one of the girls ordering the exact same giant burger he just finished.  This would be, Amber.

Seeing his opening, Shmeggert suavely leans over to her and says, “I bet you can’t!”
She’s like, “WTF?!” 
[Note: remember, this is what I imagine the conversation to have been]

HIM: I bet you can’t get your whole mouth around that burger!
HER: The hell I can’t!
HIM: Care to make it interesting??
HER: Whaddya got big boy?
HIM: If you can do it, then I lose the bet, and Murph will buy you a round.
HER: And if I can’t??
HIM: Then I win and you owe me a BJ! [Note: this is probably 99.99% accurate].
HER: You’re on! 
HIM: {starts daydreaming of his winnings}

Long story short, out comes her ginormous burger. Annnd….

Turns out this woman was born with some kind of magical, double hinged mandible - a hamburger black hole you might say. Good for sooo many things. She basically took out half the burger in one giant chomp! 
Mr. Shmeggert is stunned & amazed!
This cracks up everybody, particularly Amber, who obviously sandbagged Mr. Shmeggert and now rightly expects her complimentary round: compliments of moi!

LET’S FAST FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION WITH THE WAITRESS AND THE OWNER…

You know how it works; There was lots of backslapping and good natured ribbing about Amber and her Magic Mouth.
The waitress stopped by to remove the remnants of the demolished burger and casually asked, “Another round?”

Amber waved her arm above her head in a circle - the international sign for, “Drinks for everybody!”
A few minutes later, out comes the tray of drinks to which Amber says, pointing at Shmeggert, “It’s on him!”
To which he says, “It’s on Murph!”

In my years of professional experience with waitresses (servers, waitrons) one thing is certain: They HATE IT when customers start jacking them around with who’s paying!  And this one was no exception and decided to simply have the owner straighten things out (this further cracked up Amber ((see photo above))

The owner was cool. Bob assured him that I’d be down there “next month” at which time he bring me in and I’d settle up (this strategy only works on a small island where there’s no chance of Bob escaping)  The owner agreed to this with one condition. He handed Bob the menu, and read him the fine print at the bottom (see below) which Bob agreed to on my behalf.

So now I owe not just the 15% gratuity, but the Asshole Tax as well!  

With all those messy details ironed out, Bob invited all of them out onto the deck for a celebration, on me, in my honor!

What a guy!!

Recalling the Incredible Self Immolation of the Red Cross

Originally written, May 2014.  


I quit the Red Cross the other day; took all the pins off my vest and left it at the Chapter.  Well,  I guess you don't actually "quit" when you're a volunteer in the Western Carolinas Region, or should I say, a member of the Disaster Workforce as the Regional Disaster and Programs Officer refers to us, (Officer…LOL).  

If I was out processing from a DRO, I'd end up at Mental Health Services.

They'd sit me down for a little heart-to-heart chat.  Many of you know how that conversation goes; "How are you feeling?  Was this a positive experience?  Is there any thing you'd like to share with us??"

Well, since you asked, I'll share just a few thoughts about my four and a half years at the Upstate Chapter of the American Red Cross here in Greenville, SC. 

Disaster Relief Operations (DRO’s) were a tremendous eye opener for me.  I'd listen to stories about gross incompetence in people's home chapters. I'd spend the day in an ERV with slackers who were a waste of the airfare spent on them.  Then I'd get home and think what a great bunch of people we have here in Greenville!  The Greenville Chapter is all about Disaster Services for me. Armed Forces, Community Outreach and Wine Auctions are great!  But it's Disaster Services where the action is -- where trained, experienced volunteers have the greatest impact.  I never had any quarrel with any of the staffers: Melise, Karen, Greta, Sue, Beth.  All very special people.  

I had a good run; Instructor, DAT Captain, Mass Care and several DRO's... all good stuff.  

The Greenville volunteers I interacted with were great!  

So it was all good on the surface, but the fact remains that over the past two years I've become increasingly frustrated with my local chapter and the Red Cross in general. I was failing at one of the great Red Cross Re-Engineering Pilars: Engagement

So why my disengagement?  I think it comes down to this:  

The Chapter I joined in December 2009 no longer exists*.  

I joined a robust, dynamic Chapter.  Today, that Chapter seems a distant, hollow shell of itself. A Disaster Services team going through the day-to-day motions with a few dedicated die hards hanging on.  I looked at an old volunteer roster from 2010-11 and it amazed me how many volunteers have simply disappeared. Remember when our monthly meetings were standing room only?  Who even bothers going to these anymore?  Sad.

I'll say it: The system-wide Red Cross Reorganization, followed up by Re-engineering took the life out of our great Upstate Disaster Services group. Some of this was the fault of ARC National and Division leadership.  Some was due to misguided Regional decisions and I suspect some was back-room local. Most of the big system wide changes have all the hallmarks of consultants. You'll never see those costs  deliniated on the Annual Statement.     

Some examples, in no specific order:

• The incredibly naive management assumption that Greenville, SC volunteers would think of Asheville, Hendersonville, or Forest City, NC as natural extensions of their home base and drive willy-nilly to help up North (as if the reverse would ever be true!)  This was ARC group-think at it's worst!   
• Musical chairs leadership in the Greenville Disaster Services office. This wasn't National's fault.  It's almost as if the people running things had a total lack of business knowledge about the effects of leadership turnover and vacancies!  And, how long has the Spartanburg position supposedly been in search?  It's an embarrassment. It's not the money -- you can find the $25k!  The HR Consultant running searches in our Region should be replaced.  
• Witnessing what looked like the flailing, on-the-job learning curve of our loony Regional Disaster Program Officer. Initially we were bombarded with a never ending series of idiotic weather reports and warnings, many times exaggerating the actual facts as reported by the National Weather Service, or its River Forecast Center.  And no e-mail about personnel changes was complete without a reminder to us that people reported to him. Truly clueless.  (Memo to the RDPO; We don't care!)  Remember the famous "Mandatory Meeting" that would take 45 minutes to drive to, just to see a Re-Engineering video on Youtube?  Some of us spoke up at the time. But as influence and authority shifted to Asheville, independence drained out of Greenville. I saw strong people roll over as if their hands were tied, all accompanied by happy talk to the volunteers about the benefits of change. I understand not wanting to rock the boat. Why risk being perceived as not a team player?
• SABA:  The Red Cross fell in love with LMS technology irrespective of who their students are!  SABA killed the old-fashioned classroom. The classroom is a social environment where Red Crossers got to know one another. The classes went a long way to building a community of volunteers.   I'd love to compare learning metrics from 2010 (classroom based) and 2014 (on-line). Boot Camp classes doesn't count.   
• Volunteer Connection:  In my opinion, epic fail.  What has it really accomplished? It's already out-dated. It's still clumsy to use. The final cost was no doubt much, much more than any one will ever admit.   
• Dissolving Greenville's "Leadership Quartet" program and Department Chairpersons. These were two outstanding local programs for volunteers to sink their teeth into.  So why'd they disappear?? No one ever said.  National certainly wasn't to blame!  It wasn't financial because there wasn't any cost, and It certainly wasn't for lack of participation. The only answer seems to be parochial politics. Someone probably didn't like the ad hoc titles and positions that didn't fit in with their way of thinking. I know this: scuttling these two programs alienated a number of good volunteers and worse…signaled the inexorable erosion of chapter self-direction and identity. 

As I said, I had a great run. It's not that I'm bitter or anti-change.  But I'm a cynic and I worry about change that is over hyped and that good people have to recover from.  

In the end, I'm grateful for the opportunity the Red Cross provided me to help some needy people and make some great friends.  Happy trails to those who stick it out!  

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* These are my opinions and perspectives.  Your's may differ.

Here’s a very interesting article that echos many of the same things...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/07/red-cross-floundered-hurricane-harvey-relief-effort-texas-leaders-residents-say/839619001/