“Peeps’ Friday ’80s Flashbacks”‏

The weekend is here and I hope you have fun plans.  I’m heading to northwestern Iowa for Ray’s 30th high school reunion.  Meanwhile, many of my friends will be taking part in Market Days in Chicago, one of the largest two-day outdoor street festivals in the Midwest.  It’s a great time.

It features three stages with some of biggest names in the music business over the past 30 years, which fits perfectly into my “Peeps’ Friday ’80s Flashbacks”‏.

The festival also features local gay talent and tribute bands of ABBA, No Doubt, and The B-52s.  This year, organizers have lucked out with the duo, Karmin, which recently scored a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and their new song is currently racing up the chart and you’ll be hearing “Hello” at radio soon.  Although it’s not an ’80s song, I’ll feature “Brokenhearted” in today’s blog as a bonus, just because they’re in Chicago at Market Days.

The three acts that I’m featuring that will be playing at Market Days this weekend have 60 Top 40 hits between them!

“Automatic” — The Pointer Sisters

Back in the 1980’s, June, Anita, and Ruth Pointer, known collectively as The Pointer Sisters. scored their first hit in 1978 with a remake of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire”.  It made it all the way up to #2.

They also scored big in the 1980s with “He’s So Shy” (#3), “Slow Hand” (#2), and then they exploded all over radio with four consecutive top ten hits from their 1983 album, “Break Out”.

Up first was the #5 hit that I”m featuring today, “Automatic”, which also won the group one of their four Grammy Awards.  It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was followed by “Jump (For My Love)” (#3), “the #9 hit “I’m So Excited”, and “Neutron Dance” that peaked at #6.

The band had a  total of 18 top 40 hits and 8 reached the top ten.

While they never scored a #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as The Pointer Sisters, they were part of USA for Africa’s “We Are The World”, that did reach #1.

The Pointer Sisters will be performing Saturday night at 9:05 on the North Stage at Market Days.
“Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair” — Sheena Easton

I have so many favorite songs from Scottish singer Sheena Easton, who will be on the Roscoe Stage at Market Days Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

She scored her first American hit in 1980 with “Modern Girl”, that reached #18.  The follow-up, ” 9 to 5 (Modern Girl)”, which hit the top of the charts made her a star.

Sheena would go on to score 15 top 40 hits with 8 of them reaching the top ten, including the theme to the James Bond movie, “For Your Eyes Only”, and duets with Kenny Rogers and Prince.  Those duets were two of her top ten hits.

“Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair) reached #9 in 1983.

“Xanadu” — Olivia Newton-John

English-born, Australian raised singer Olivia Newton-John first made her mark on the United States in 1971 with the #25 pop hit, “If Not For You”.

However, it was double whammy of scoring five consecutive top ten hits on the pop and country charts at the same time beginning in 1973 that made her an international superstar.

Olivia’s 1981 hit, “Physical” is one of the biggest songs of all-time.  It stayed at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks.  This came after her huge success in the movie, “Grease”, which made $394.5 million in 1978 and the soundtrack spawned three top 5 hits.

Olivia would go on to hit the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 27 times with 15 of those songs reaching the top ten.  She reached the #1 spot on the Hot 100 with “I Honestly Love You) in 1974, “Have You Never Been Mellow” in 1975, “You’re The One That I Want” with John Travolta from “Grease” in 1978, “Magic” in 1980, and “Physical”.

Olivia also dominated the country charts with 13 top 40 hits.

Her last top ten song on the Hot 100 was the title track from the movie, “Twist of Fate” in 1983.  It peaked at #5.

While I could not pick my favorite Olivia song because I love the country songs, the pop songs, and the dance songs, the one that always make me smile and sing along was the #8 title track from her 1980 movie, “Xanadu”.  The song featured the Electric Light Orchestra.

Olivia will be performing Sunday night at 9:05 on the North Stage at Market Days.

Anthony

Karmin will be the act playing just before Olivia Sunday night.

30 Years Is A Long Time!

High school can be an exciting time for teenagers.  While it can be heaven for the popular ones, it can be hell for those that aren’t jocks, cheerleaders, or in other A-list cliques.

It was 30 years ago this summer that Ray and I both graduated from high school.  He graduated from a private Catholic school in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and I graduated from a small school in Lowes, Kentucky.  We were bussed about 12 miles each way from within the city limits of Mayfield to this country school, despite the fact that we lived only 2 miles from Mayfield High School.  Go figure!

I wouldn’t call my years at Lowes hell, but I definitely wouldn’t say it was fun and that I’d like to do it over again.

While I was pretty good at playing basketball in my neighborhood, I never tried out for any sports at school.  I spent all my time in high school studying and taking advanced math and science classes, graduating with nine of my eighteen credits in those two subjects.  When I wasn’t studying for school, I was obsessed with weather forecasting and observing.  And, I would spend hours in my room with my record player and over-sized headphones on dancing around and probably not realizing how loud I was singing along to the music.

The only school event I went to other than a few basketball games and graduation was my induction into the FFA (yes, the Future Farmers of America)!  I had to recite the creed and my only regret 30 years later is that I don’t still have my FFA jacket.

I didn’t attend the prom and it’s a good thing.  You saw what happened to Carrie White!

I had a couple of friends that I hung out with in high school, but only at school.  I never socialized with anyone outside of school except for the kids in my neighborhood and that was only in elementary school.  I was more a loner in high school. I knew I was gay, but I didn’t know anyone else that was.  That was probably the main reason that I isolated myself from the rest of my classmates.

From a music standpoint, I was country when country wasn’t cool.  In the 1970s, I didn’t listen to pop and disco, although I was familiar with ABBA and The Carpenters.  That was my only foray into ’70s music.  However, my sister, Tammy, the wild one, then and now, bought me the Donna Summer 45 rpm single, “Dim All The Lights” for Christmas in 1979.  And, I quickly went out and bought Chic’s “Good Times” and I would sneak listens to Tammy’s double album of “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer.  The tide was turning.

And then, in the fall of 1981, at the beginning of my senior year, Todd and Randy, two guys in my advanced biology class, introduced me to new wave music.  First, it was The Cars’ “Shake It Up”.  From there, there was no turning back for me and by the time I graduated in the summer of 1982, I was rocking to Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and gaily dancing to the Go-Go’s and Olivia Newton-John.

But, I was really mesmerized by the sounds coming out of England with the new British New Wave Invasion.  There were the very naughty boys, Soft Cell, with “Tainted Love” and The Human League.  “Don’t You Want Me” is still one of my favorite songs of all time and I got to see them several years back at Market Days in Chicago and I felt 17 again!  From there, I embraced my sexuality openly (well, as openly as I could have before heading off to college one year later, in the fall of 1983, and with no boyfriend.)

With Culture Club, Duran Duran, Prince, Corey Hart, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper, music filled my life and it gave me the confidence that I could be anything that I wanted to be and I wouldn’t change a thing.  I’m perfectly okay with who I am today.

I guess if I had to choose two things that I would change from high school, it would be trying out for the basketball team and asking my childhood crush to the prom.  That would have been so scandalous back in 1982.  Two boys (or two girls) going to the prom together today it still controversial and it’s 2012!

Enough about me, this is all about Ray this weekend as we head to northwestern Iowa for his 30th high school reunion.  He has gone to other milestone events.  I’m looking forward to attending his reunion, since mine pretty much didn’t get off the ground, even with the wonders of the internet and Facebook.

Look at my adorable husband in 1982.  (Disclaimer:  I did not ask for permission to use this picture and since Miss ABBA lived indoors and was treated like a queen, there’s no proverbial dog house for me to sleep in tonight, so I hope it’s okay that I posted the picture.) 🙂

I am already Facebook friends with a few of his classmates and I can’t wait to meet them.  Hi Kim!  Hi Carol!

It will be a little interesting since this will be his first class reunion that he’s a married man (to another man) thanks to Iowa.  I know that I’ll probably be treated nicely by most everyone.  Okay, there may be a few that might avoid me.  And, if so, I promise I won’t go all Dexter Morgan like he did at his high school reunion at the start of the sixth season.  Better yet, maybe I could just embody Janeane Garofalo’s Heather Mooney from “Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion”.

Speaking of which, since I never went to any of my high school reunions (I think there was one in 1992?), I live vicariously through Romy White and Michele Weinberger.  You remember them, right?  We all went to school with them.

Those are the lead characters in the 1997 movie, “Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion” starring Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow.

For the uninitiated, order it now from Netflix or amazon.com.  In the movie, Romy and Michele live in Los Angeles and while one works at a dead-end job and the other is unemployed, they really don’t think that their lives in the ten years since high school have been that bad.  They look at the yearbook and relive some of the fun times at school.  The “Madonna Twins” look is classic.

As they head to Tucson, Arizona, for their high school reunion, they get nervous.  They are going to have to encounter girls that were mean to them (cheerleaders), unrequited love, and more angst from their teen years.

Michelle: What are you picking on us for any way? We are NOT the ones who got fat.
Christie: We’re pregnant, you half-wit.
Michelle: Oh yeah? Well, I hope your babies look like monkeys!

While I was not fashionable in high school (that came in mid-1980s when I started going to out to the local gay bar), Romy and Michele were fashionable in their own way.  And, ten years later, while the cheerleaders still pick on them for their fashion sense, our heroes get the last laugh with their hot dresses.

While I know I could rock either of those dresses this weekend, I will dress more Midwestern and I’m looking forward to a good time and maybe some dancing.

There’s still a little part of me that wishes that my reunion had been better organized this year, so I could go back and see how the past 30 years have treated my classmates.

But, I’ll always have my friends, Romy & Michele.  As a matter of fact, I’m going to unwind today on the couch with a glass of wine and spend 92 minutes with them in one of my favorite movies of all time.

Anthony

I’m Getting Excited About … Rain?

Have you ever had one of those days when you wanted to just call into work and say, “I’m going to stay home today, lie on the couch, and do nothing?”  I’m sure you have and I’m sure some of you have had several of those days.

Today is that day for me and it’s even my Friday!  I’m definitely not depressed and it’s not the beginning of the week, so I can’t even post the video of “Rainy Days and Mondays” by the Carpenters.

It’s been a long two weeks of work and I just feel tired and I want to chill out.  In addition to my recent work schedule, it doesn’t help that I’ve been a maniac on the treadmill and walking in the neighborhood to get my body ready for late summer and fall travel.

I think the main reason I want to just be lazy and skip work today is because of the ugly weather we’ve had this summer.  Temperatures have hit 90° or higher 37 times this summer, the most times since 2007.  In addition to that, it’s been so dry.

Rainfall, officially in the Quad Cities, is running more than 7.5″ below average since just the beginning of June and lawns are brown and crusty, like the desert, unless you’ve been watering them!

While some hometowns have had isolated thunderstorms to bring heavier rain, like last Saturday, the last time we officially saw more than one-half of rain in one day at the airport in Moline, Illinois, was back on June 16, 2012, when 0.61″ fell.  The last time we saw more than an inch in one day was May 31, 2012, when 1.01″ accumulated.

That’s why I’m so excited to see the clouds overhead this morning as I get motivated to work out and head to work.  It also makes me happy to see a big green blob with yellow blotches on radar heading our way!

When I was a kid in Kentucky, just the mention of snow got me so excited that I couldn’t sleep.  Since I was an aspiring meteorologist, I was even more crazed.  Many nights I would wait up until I saw the first flake of snow fall.  And, since weather men are never right (note:  sarcasm), there were times I’d be dragging the next day before those snowflakes would never materialize to give us a “snow day” and I had stayed up all night.

Today is one of those days.  I have it on good authority that we’re going to see showers and thunderstorms today through Thursday evening.  As a matter of fact, while some may see a little less and some may see a little more, an inch of “liquid gold” could be falling from the skies in the next 36 hours.  It’s too late for some farmers, but for my desperate yard and gardens, there’s still hope.

So, I’m going to get off my butt, get on the treadmill, get motivated to go into work and do the 5 & 6 p.m. weathercasts tonight, and wish you a fantastic Wednesday, or whatever day it may be for you.  And, then tonight and tomorrow, I’m going to lie on the couch and listen to it rain.

Anthony

My Wandering Mind — Here’s What I’m Thinking About

Every once in a while, I like to blog about all of the things that have crossed my mind or crossed my path during my time on the internet and Facebook.  It may be nothing more than a picture or something that I read in a magazine or online, but I don’t want to write an entire blog about it and today is one of those days.  Here are the things that made me smile or got me to thinking.  As if I need to think more?

“DEXTER”

Season six of my favorite television show, “Dexter”, will be released on DVD one week from today.  I’m very excited to see it because everyone that I’ve talked to says that it was a great season.  Religion plays a big role in the twelve episodes and I just love the promotional material with the angel’s wings made from blood.  That’s so Dexter Morgan.

I’ve also learned that we’re down to the last two seasons of “Dexter” since it will end at season eight and that the executive producer already knows how it will end!

If you don’t watch it first run on Showtime and you’re waiting for the DVD like I am, here’s the trailer for season six.

In addition to “Dexter” season six arriving on DVD next week, Gretel is more excited about “Glee” season three on the same day.  Later this month, “The Walking Dead” season two arrives and in early September, it’s “Fringe” season four.  I will be watching a lot of television this fall!

SIMPLE ISN’T IT?

 

WE REALLY FORGET VETERANS WHEN THEY RETURN HOME

While I registered with the draft in 1982, which was required by law, I was lucky that I never got called to war.  Some choose the military as careers and for some, the military chooses them.  Our brave men and women of all walks of life go to foreign lands and fight for our freedom.  Some may only go once and some are called to serve multiple duties and they see things that we only see in movies.

And, when they return, they may get a parade or a hometown welcome and then once the last of the confetti falls, what happens in their lives then?

Recently, I came across the story of  Matthew Magdzas, a National Guardsman, who killed his family (a pregnant wife and daughter), their dogs, and then himself in Superior, Wisconsin, in August 2010.

While tragic, what’s even scarier are these stats that “Time” magazine reported at the time:  In 2010, 113 National Guard members committed suicide;  the Guard’s suicide rate is up 82% from 2009 and 450% from 2004 and now exceeds that of active-duty soldiers;  they lack jobs, support and camaraderie found on military bases when they return from war; and 42% of Guard troops come back from war with mental illness compared to 20% for active-duty counterparts that have more thorough training and are more prepared for longer periods at war.

With the wars that we’re engaged in across the world, we really need to make it where the National Guard is more prepared for what it will face away from home and what to expect when they return.  Many of the duties of the Guard changed from helping at state levels after 9/11.  Guardmen/women now account for about 20% of the combat troops at war instead of helping with state floods, weather disasters, and forest fires.

FALL IS GETTING CLOSER

I’m ready for fall to get here to break the incredible heat that we’ve experienced with the drought this summer.  It also means that our vacation season kicks off next month with Houston, Las Vegas, and then our pre-Christmas cruise.  On a much smaller scale, we’re heading to Fort Dodge, Iowa, this weekend for Ray’s 30th high school reunion.

This fall, I’m awaiting confirmation on the title of the new Osama bin Laden movie, which follows the special operation forces as they try to capture or kill the Afghan terrorist.  It’s the follow-up movie from Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow of “The Hurt Locker”.  The rumored title of the movie is “Zero Dark Thirty” and it stars Jessica Chastain “(The Help”), Joel Edgerton (“Warrior”) and Kyle Chandler (“Super 8”).  The movie comes out Christmas week.

ARTPOP

The follow-up to “Born This Way” is on the way.  We no longer have to wait for the title of Lady Gaga’s new album coming out late in 2012 (more likely in early 2013 when she should be touring America on “The Born This Wall Ball” tour).  The album is called “ARTPOP”.

Gaga tweeted, “make sure when writing about my new album/project ARTPOP that you CAPITALIZE the title, *its all in the details* good morning twitter!”

“PRECIOUS” FOLLOW-UP LOOKS AMAZING

Director Lee Daniels’ follow-up to the incredible Oscar nominated film, “Precious”, arrives in theaters this October.  (Mo’nique won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Precious”.)

It’s called “The Paperboy” and it looks amazing.  I haven’t been following the race to the Oscars in 2013, but I can guarantee that one of my favorites, Nicole Kidman, will be one of the Best Actress nominees based on this trailer.  And, you get a bonus!  Zac Efron in “tighty whities”!

The movie also stars Matthew McConaughy, John Cusack, David Oyelono, Macy Gray, and Scott Glenn.

LEBANON

The best movie that I saw recently was the award-winning  2009 Israeli movie, “Lebanon”, which followed a lone tank and paratroopers that were dispatched to a hostile town during the First Lebanon War in 1982.  It was gripping, suspenseful, and claustrophobic.

“The New York Times” called it “an astonishing piece of cinema” and “Variety said it is “the boldest and best” of recent Israeli films based upon the Lebanon wars.  Meanwhile, the British newspaper “The Guardian” called it “anti-war”.

GRADE:  A

 

GREAT FOOD & REFRESHING DRINKS MAKE LIFE MORE ENJOYABLE

While I would probably never have the patience to make this colorful cake (maybe before next June’s pride, I will), it looks fun and delightful.

However, I am planning on making this strawberry-basil sangria.  I found the recipe on treehugger.com.

Strawberry-Basil Sangria

• ½ lb of fresh strawberries
• 1 apple
• 1 ounce of fresh whole basil leaves
• 1 bottle of Cline Cellar’s Cool Climate Chardonnay
• ½ cup organic sugar
• 1 cup of club soda
• 1 cup of white grape juice

1. Trim and thinly slice the strawberries.
2. Slice and dice the apple into very small bits.
3. Score the basil leaves with a fork. I did this instead of cutting the leaves into strips as I did not want my guests choking on basil while trying to enjoy this drink. Simply just rub the basil leaves gently with a fork in order to release their flavor in the sangria.
4. Layer the fruit, sugar and basil in a large pitcher and let sit for about 10 minutes. This is just to let the sugar absorb the juices from the basil and the fruit. You’ll see it turn a bit red.
5. Add the club soda first and then the remaining liquids. Stir well and serve.

MUSIC I’M EXCITED ABOUT

Of course, I’m excited that Madonna is at #8 on the Billboard Dance Chart with “Turn Up The Radio”, the third single from “MDNA”.  The new remix by Far East Movement (“Like a G6”) is out of this world.  It’s one time when I agree that adding rap to a pop song makes it even better.  The rap in Maroon 5’s “Payphone”, not so much!

My other favorite songs right now are “Timebomb” by Kylie Minogue, “Let’s Have a Kiki” by the Scissor Sisters, “Postcards From Paris” by The Band Perry, and these two.

I’ve never been a fan of Demi Lovato, but I knew who she was by having an 11-year-old daughter.  She’s had it rough over the past couple of years with “physical and emotional issues”, but it seems she’s got her act together now and I just love her new top ten song, “Give Your Heart a Break”.

Also, at the top of my list of favorites now is Chris Wallace’s “Remember When (Push Rewind)”, which I featured a month or so ago. It’s now about to crack the top 40!

I saw him at Market Days a couple of years ago when he was the lead singer of The White Tie Affair, which had a modest hit with “Candle (Sick and Tired)”.  I can’t wait for the debut album!

I’ve let my mind wander enough.  There was one more thing I wanted to talk about today, but this is enough for now.  Have a great day and thanks for checking out my random thoughts.

Peace,

Peeps

They Said What??? Adam Levine, Courtney Love, Hateful Pastors & Hateful Business Owners

NEW YORK REPUBLICAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE RICHARD HANNA

“I have to say that I’m frustrated by how much we — I mean the Republican Party — are willing to give deferential treatment to our extremes in this moment in history.”  “We render ourselves incapable of governing when all we do is take severe sides…”  “If all people do is go down there and join a team, and the team is invested in winning and you have something that looks very similar to the shirts and the skins, there’s not a lot of value there.”

REV. BILL OWENS, PRESIDENT OF THE COALITION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PASTORS

 “The time has come for a broad-based assault against the powers that be that want to change our culture to one of men marrying men and women marrying women. […] For the president to bow to the money as Judas did for Jesus Christ is a disgrace and we are ashamed […] Another very important point I think that needs to be made is if you watch the men who have been caught having sex with little boys, you will note that all of them will say that “I was molested as a child — a man molested me in my home,” wherever. They will say they were molested. And for the president to condone this type of thing knowing the full facts is just irresponsible.”

MAROON 5 SINGER ADAM LEVINE AND “THE VOICE” CO-HOST ADAM LEVINE

(tweeting about singer Carly Rae Jepson “Call Me Maybe”):  “Why does she want him to call her Maybe?  Carly is a lovely name.”

JACK PHILLIPS, OWNER OF MASTERPIECE CAKE SHOP IN LAKEWOOD, COLORADO

“If gays come in and want to order birthday cakes or any cakes for any occasion, graduations, or whatever, I have no prejudice against that whatsoever. It’s just the wedding cake, not the people, not their lifestyle. We would close down that bakery before we closed our beliefs, so that may be what it comes to … we’ll see.”

CAROLE MOORE, WHITEBRIAR BED & BREAKFAST IN EDGEWATER PARK, NEW JERSEY

(on Facebook):  “where is the role model that your son needs to know how to act like a man? or will he only see the “one sided selfishness” of a “single parent”…and end up an out cast in society by being “gay” himself because he didn’t have a father as a role model. I’ll pray for you….remember what the bible says: “Lay down with dogs, get up with fleas”…..guess that’s why God invented aids….THIS LOCAL BUSINESS WILL BE ONE MAN ONE WOMAN ONE GOD MAKES MARRIAGE….AND PROUD TO DO SO….YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY TO OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS”

SINGER CHRIS BROWN

(tweeting about reports of his homophobic comment last week toward R&B singer Frank Ocean):  “My Opinion on the whole Frank Ocean subject is ……… Love who u wanna love.  It’s ur decision. People stop searching for BS…Everyone is so quick to point  the wrong fingers at each other! Ask urself… Am I Doing everything I can to  help the world ????…The world is so bent on social acceptance that we’ve  forgotten what makes us special… Our individuality.”

FAILED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MICHELE BACHMANN

“We are standing with the Cathys. Standing with the family. Thank you, Chick-fil-A. I’m happy to stand with you.”

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS IN DALLAS, TEXAS

(in the past, he’s also said that Mormonism is a cult and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not a Christian): “Amazingly, some gay activists don’t even try to hide the link between homosexuality and pedophilia. There are some who are right now are actively involved in trying to legalize sex between adults and children by lowering the age of consent or removing it altogether.  In all fairness, it would be wrong to suggest that all homosexuals to pedophiles, it would be wrong to even suggest that a majority of homosexuals are pedophiles, but the truth nevertheless is there. There are a disproportionate amount of assaults against children by homosexuals than by heterosexuals, you can’t deny that, and the reason is very clear: homosexuality is perverse, it represents a degradation of a person’s mind and if a person will sink that low and there are no restraints from God’s law, then there is no telling to whatever sins he will commit as well.”

REGAL CINEMAS

(after a man was arrested at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Miami Beach, Florida, after acting strange and allegedly yelling, “this is it”):  “There was a disturbance in a theatre at approximately midnight in South Beach. Regal takes the matter very seriously, accordingly we are working closely with local police. All information at this time should come from the authorities, as we would not want to interfere with their investigation. Regal, our employees and security personnel remain alert and engaged. Our number one priority continues to be the safety and security of guests and employees.”

HOLE SINGER COURTNEY LOVE

(tweeting singer Lana Del Rey about Del Ray performing Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box”): “You do know the song is about my Vagina right? ‘Throw down your umbilical noose so i can climb right back,’ umm.  On top of which some of the lyrics about my vagina I contributed. So umm next time you sing it, think about my vagina will you? lol xc.  “You are gorgeous and very talented, it was all in good humor love, it is true however bwahaa xc”

Anthony

Life Really Is A Country Song

For better or worse, when I think of life, I think of two country songs.  “For My Broken Heart” by Reba McEntire (1991) and “Time Marches On” (1996) by Tracy Lawrence.

It was a dark time for me in the months that followed my mother’s death in November 1990.  Not only was I dealing with losing one of my best friends, I was living with my grandmother Helen, whose health was failing, I was adjusting to being single after my first four-year relationship from college ended, and I was waiting for a television weather job offer to come my way (living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the summer and fall of 1990, I had turned down my first job offer that fall in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, to move back to Kentucky, two weeks before my mother died.)

Although I was aware of Reba McEntire in the 1980s when she was becoming the “Queen of Country Music”, I was very much a teenager and young adult in that decade with the new “English Invasion” and new wave, freestyle, and dance music.  It was all about Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Erasure, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Taylor Dayne, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Corey Hart, and New Kids on the Block!

In the summer of 1990, while visiting “Sidetrack”, one of the most awesome bars in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood with my friend, Paul, I heard this voice that stopped me dead in my tracks.  The song was “Rumor Has It” by Reba.  I rushed out and bought the CD.  It was the first country CD that I purchased and I fell in love with that woman.  I loved her voice, her warmth, and her style.  And, when I met her almost 15 years later, everything that I felt about her was true to heart — she was a genuine, warm, and caring woman.

So, when Reba released her new album in the fall of 1991, about eleven months after my mother’s death, the lead single was the title track, “For My Broken Heart”, I felt that Reba was singing that song just for me.

Even today, when I hear the song’s lyrics, “Last night I prayed the Lord my soul to keep/Then I cried myself to sleep /So sure life wouldn’t go on without you /But oh this sun is blinding me/As it wakes me from the dark /I guess the world didn’t stop/For my broken heart”, I know that as hard as life can, unless I die, I’ll pull myself up or out of a funk and move on and smile again.  I’m one of the living.

That song play heavily in my life and in my heart again about six months ago.

After being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in late March 2011 and only given two to three months to live, Miss ABBA wasn’t ready to go play in the eternal gardens of “puppy heaven”.  Spring turned into summer and summer progressed into fall and fall transitioned into winter and Miss ABBA just got more gray and stayed energetic and lively.  She  never got visibly sick or defeated until February 2nd of this year, the day before she crossed the “rainbow bridge”.

In the spring of 2011, I cried many tears knowing I had only two to three months with my little girl.  We made the most of it.  I didn’t care about the treadmill and working out.  I took every opportunity I had to go on walks with her, sit out in the yard and read magazines with her, play ball or whatever.  I wasn’t going to miss out on anything.

And, I didn’t.  ABBA loved to travel and she was game for a R-I-D-E at any time.  It didn’t matter to her if it was just to the store or halfway across the country.  Most of the vacations that I took in her life were ones that she went on and her cancer wasn’t going to stop her.

Last summer, we traveled to Fort Dodge, Iowa, for the weekend in July to celebrate Ray’s parents 50th anniversary,

and to Ohio to visit Granny Betty and to swim in her pool.

We also drove to Kentucky to move Tammy, my sister, to the Quad Cities,

and then to Spirit Lake, Iowa, for Labor Day weekend.  ABBA spent that time running, playing, swimming, and boating.

Miss ABBA was a survivor and she wasn’t ready to give up!  She still had places to see.

On February 3, 2012, Miss ABBA decided that she was ready travel to a place without me.  It’s been six months now and I think of my silly, goofy, golden a thousand times a day.  I miss her and cherish the almost 12 years we had together and I know one day I’ll see her again.

It’s been some time since I shed tears over Miss ABBA, but I’m doing  it now thinking of her and writing this about her.  Usually, when I think of her, I smile and laugh.  She had such a wonderful life and she brightened the lives of those around her with a smile and a wag of the tail.

Now, as I get ready to travel this fall and winter to Houston, Texas, Las Vegas, Nevada, New Orleans, Louisiana, and the western Caribbean, Miss ABBA won’t be in the backseat or on the plane with me physically, but she’ll be in my heart.

It’s been six months now without her and it feels like six years.  But, as Tracy Lawrence sings, “The South moves North/The North moves South/A star is born/A star burns out/The only thing that stays the same is everything changes/Everything changes”

Anthony

My First Cheesecake — Room For Improvement!

The weekend is here and if you’re heading out to the Mississippi Valley Fair, keep up on the latest forecast and radar because we could have strong to severe thunderstorms with wind and heavy rain this afternoon and evening.  That’s not a forecast that concert or fair-goers want to hear, but it’s music to the ears of farmers and my yard and gardens.  Sunday will be much nicer with highs only in the low-80s, compared to the low-to-mid-90s we’ve been experiencing.

If you like watching me do weather, you’re in luck.  Not only do I do my typical weekend shows, but I’ll there Monday through Wednesday at 5 & 6 p.m. filling in for Terry.

I enjoyed my two days off Thursday and Friday.  I did some running around the first day and I finally did something that I’ve been talking about for some time.  Two Christmases ago, I asked Santa for cheesecake spring-form pans and got four!  But, I never made a cheesecake — until Thursday.

I had several recipes, so let Ray choose the flavor.  While I would have chosen orange-cranberry (which I’ll make next and it is more appropriate for fall), he chose lemon.  After the mint-apple jelly debacle last month when I didn’t follow the recipe by substituting liquid pectin for dry pectin and it didn’t exactly gel, I made this, my first cheesecake, by the recipe.

While it turned out beautifully, decorated with whipped topping that melts very fast, I have room to improve!  The recipe called for three boxes of lemon pudding mix and the final product did have more of a chewy, jello consistency, rather than a creamy cheesecake feel to it.  However, it tasted great.

I know that I will only make cheesecake when we have guests over for dinner.  Without the whipped cream, the cheesecake alone clocked in at 4,800 calories.  Yes, your read that correctly!  Almost 5,000 calories for a 10-inch cheesecake.  So, even if you cut it into sixteen pieces, that’s still 300 calories per serving.  Oh well, I didn’t mind and I don’t think our dinner guests did either.

We invited our friends Vickie and Eric, and Tom, Katy, and Lena over for festive Friday evening of appetizers, drinks, dinner, and dessert.  We started the evening off with Ray’s excellent Dirty Vodka Martini Dip, and I failed to get a picture of it!  I was too busy eating, sipping my wine, and talking!

I made the salad from a recipe from “The Pasta House” restaurant.  This is how festive it looked before I added the olive oil and the Parmesan cheese.

And, this is the final product.

Ray grilled excellent pork sirloin steaks and made seasoned red potatoes and green beans and his cheesy bread, and I made a fresh corn and tomato salad with fresh basil and hot pepper jack cheese.

I would venture to say that we all had a great time Friday night with dinner and socializing.

(First picture:  Eric & Vickie; Second:  Katy & Tom; Third:  Ray, Anthony, & Gretel; Fourth:  Gretel & Lena)

And, since Lena’s birthday is coming up and we’ll be out-of-town, we surprised her with a big chocolate chip cookie, a present, and I even made them “kiddie martinis”.  See, there are more uses for flavored coffee creamer and milk!

Vickie & Eric, thank you for the Wapsi Strawbery Vodka  from Le Claire, Iowa, and Katy, Tom, & Lena, the plant is gorgeous!

Now I must go walk off the spongy cheesecake.  Have a great weekend.

Anthony

“Peeps’ Friday ’80s Flashbacks”

The weekend is almost here and if you live in the Quad Cites’ area, there’s three more nights of the Mississippi Valley Fair.  So, whatever you do, have fun.  I’ll kick off this week’s flashbacks of my favorite 1980s songs with a fair-themed song.

“She’s A Beauty” — The Tubes

The San Fransisco, California rock band, The Tubes, only scored two top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in their career.  The first, “Don’t Want To Wait Anymore” reached #35 in 1981, but they hit it big two years later with the #10 smash, “She’s A Beauty”.

“We Close Our Eyes” — Go West

There are times when I really like a singer or a group and they never really make it in America or it takes forever.  Go West, an English duo, is one of those acts.  They formed in 1982 and scored 9 hits in the U.K.

In America, it took them until 1987 to crack the top 40 here with “Don’t Look Down – The Sequel”.  It peaked at #39.  The reason it’s called “The Sequel” is because it was a hit in England in 1985 and it was remixed and released in the U.S. two years later.

I fell in love with their sound and first album in 1984.  Their first release, “We Close Our Eyes” peaked at #41 in America, but it reached #5 on the Billboard Dance charts.  I”m featuring that song today.

Go West would score a top five hit (#4) in 1990 with “King of Wishful Thinking” from the “Pretty Woman” soundtrack.  They had another hit following that, “Faithful”, in 1992, that reached #12.

“Sugar Don’t Bite” — Sam Harris

Before there was there was the term “reality show”, Oklahoma singer Sam Harris was one of the first original reality stars.

He won the 1983 “Star Search” competition and blew people away with his rendition of “Over The Rainbow”.  He then became of the few white singers signed to the Motown label.

His first release, “Sugar Don’t Bite” reached #36 in 1984 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Harris would go on to release many fantastic albums and sell millions of copies, become a star on Broadway and television, but he never reached the Top 40 again.

He and his husband, film producer and director Danny Jacobsen have been together 18 years and in 2008, they adopted a son.

Anthony

I’m With The Band (Perry)

This summer marks my seventh summer in the Quad Cities and while I’ve been to the Mississippi Valley Fair all seven years for work to present live weather, I’ve never gone to one of the Grandstand concert shows.

Usually, the roster features mostly country music acts and this year is no exception.  Rodney Atkins kicked off this year’s concert series Tuesday night and Montgomery Gentry close out the Fair Sunday night.  The only non-country act this year is the 1980’s pop band, REO Speedwagon.

It’s August and I was expecting hot weather.  It was sunny and toasty when we arrived Wednesday evening.  Luckily, temperatures had fallen into 80s as the sun set just in time for the concert.

Bob Fox, the  Mississippi Valley Fair General Manager, always does a spectacular job bringing in great concerts, vendors, and rides.  He’s a great guy and I actually got to socialize with him a little longer this year.  We talked about his family and his dogs while we waited backstage before the concert to meet The Band Perry.

The second picture is me and my sister, Tammy, with The Band Perry.  Ray and Gretel got to meet them, too, and their pictures will be featured tomorow on the band’s website and then I’ll add it to this blog.

All three Perry siblings, (from left to right:  Reid, Kimberly, and Neil) were very polite and warm.  It seems that they enjoy meeting the fans knowing that they made them platinum selling country music stars with just their first album.

I saw The Band Perry for the first time last October at the iWireless Center when they opened for Reba McEntire.

That show was full of energy and I didn’t expect anything less for this one and I wasn’t disappointed.

The show opened with an album cut, which was the first of the eleven songs from their 2010 #2 debut album, The Band Perry.   While many attending were waiting for the songs they were familiar with from radio, I enjoyed “Quittin’ You”, “Double Heart”, and “Miss You Being Gone”.

Kimberly Perry definitely has a down home persona true to her southern roots (born and raised throughout the South in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi) when she talked to the audience between songs.  She definitely knew she was in Davenport and the Quad Cities.

The crowd definitely livened up when the band performed their first radio hit, “Hip To My Heart” as the second song of their set.  While that song only peaked at #20 in 2010, it introduced us to the sensation that would become the Grammy nominated, Country Music Association Award winning group, The Band Perry.

One problem a new band faces when it headlines its own show is the limited amount of material they can do.  When The Band Perry opened for Reba last fall, they filled their 45-minute set with their radio hits, a few album cuts, and covers.

Last night, they performed their hits including the #1 smash, “All Your Life” and their current hit on radio, the #7 song, “Postcards From Paris”.  The band also mixed in many classics like Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin”, John Cougar Mellencamp’s  “Jack and Diane”, “Me And Bobby McGee” from Janis Joplin, and Don McLean’s “American Pie”.

They also performed a gospel medley that I really enjoyed and Gretel’s eyes lit up when Neil sang Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls”.  She knows the song from “Glee’, so the cool factor was there for her and also, during the meet and greet, Neil called her “pretty lady”.

Gretel also commented on middle child, Reid’s hair and his tight jeans.  She told me that he wore the same jeans in the meet and greet and the show because they were so tight, he probably couldn’t get them off.  But, she also said that she likes tight jeans.  Our little girl is growing up!

After all of the album cuts, the cover songs, and the hits, the band closed with their #1 country song and their biggest pop crossover hit, “If I Die Young” allowing the audience to sing along before Kimberly finished off the song.

The encore was a peppy 10-minute set that opened with the current pop hit from fun., “We Are Young” and closed with “You Lie”, which they took to #2 last year.  The only down side was something I referenced earlier about having only one album to perform.  The concert was just about 70 minutes.  But, it was 70 mostly energetic minutes and Kimberly, Reid, Neil, and the rest of the band had a great time in Davenport, Iowa.  So did Gretel, Ray, and Tammy.

The Band Perry were amazing.  If you missed them last night, don’t worry.  I’m sure they’ll make another trip to the Quad Cities soon and they’ll likely be performing new songs from a second album that’s probably being worked on right now.  That’s only speculation since they’re already on their fifth radio hit from their debut album two years ago.

My friend, Bob Fox was very hospitable and the weather turned out perfect.

While I had a great time in the outdoor concert setting, I think I’m still more of an indoor concert person even though I’ve seen Reba outdoors twice and Britney Spears was outdoors last year, too.

And, being at the Fair, it gave us a chance to enjoy some delicious food.  Gretel had deep-fried cheddar cheese bites and we had hand-breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches with mustard, onions, and pickles.  Ray and I were good and we split the sandwich to make room for dessert — Red Velvet Funnel Cake with cream cheese icing.

Although the grown-ups split it (Gretel had a caramel apple), I could very well have eaten the whole funnel cake by myself.  But, it would have been detrimental to my diet and healthy eating.  Maybe next year, I’ll go the Mississippi Valley Fair several times and try different fair food every day!

Anthony

P.S.  Here’s a little segment of “If I Die Young”.  The audio is great, but just ignore the video. 🙂

To Eat at Chick-fil-A or Not to Eat at Chick-fil-A,That is the Question

Today is the day.  To some, it is Wednesday, the middle of the week.  For me, after working seven long days and nights, it’s Friday.  It’s also August 1st and there’s only five months left in 2012.

And, thanks to failed presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, it’s national “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”  The Baptist minister wants you to head out to your local Chick-fil-A restaurant, have lunch or dinner to show your support and stand up for the morals of this great country.

So far, so good.  I’ve written one full line about the chain restaurant without bashing them.

We all know the story about the COO of the company, Dan Cathy, speaking out against marriage equality.  As I’ve said before, that’s his choice.  We have choices in America.  That’s what the great men and women — black, white, Asian, Hispanic, gay, straight, bisexual, lesbian, or questioning — in this country have fought for and even given their lives and their sanity for — to give us the right to go to Chick-fil-A today or not.

It’s that simple.  Chick-fil-A has good food.  At least, it did in the early-1990s when I ate there back in Kentucky once or twice.  I wouldn’t know today if it tastes any different because I won’t eat there or at Cracker Barrel or at White Castle.

Cathy has a right to oppose marriage equality (he’s not alone) and some have argued with me that’s there’s nothing wrong with the chicken chain donating its money to whatever groups or organizations it wants.  For the record, Chick-fil-A has donated millions to groups that not only oppose marriage equality, but also gay rights.

On the other hand, companies like amazon.com and Google have donated huge sums of money to the fight for marriage equality.

So why is okay with me that Google and amazon.com donate money for causes I believe in and I’m complaining that Chick-fil-A donates money to organizations that I don’t agree with?  Is that hypocrisy on my behalf?

No!  Google and amazon.com are donating money for the good of a group of people in our society.  Some of those groups that Chick-fil-A donates money to oppresses that same group of people in our society.

Here is a hypothetical question:  do you think people would raise hell if a large corporation donated money to companies that worked to stop interracial marriages or to promote the Ku Klux Klan?  We know that the KKK is a far-right group of terrorists that hates blacks and gays.  Would you support businesses that support organizations that try to hold people back and deny them their rights — something that our country’s foundation is based on?

Large corporations should be able to spend their money how they see fit?  However, it shouldn’t be detrimental to people fighting for their rights to live just like any other American.

Like the Palins (another failed political family in Alaska) and Huckabee, you have a right to support Chick-fil-A today or you can go to KFC for lunch or dinner because they “do chicken right”.

I’ve now stated my opinion, Mike Huckabee’s, and Sarah Palin’s.  What do others think?

Well, some are organizing “Kiss Mor Chiks” this Friday.  They want same-sex couples to show up at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country and kiss each other.

But, not all gay groups believe a boycott against Chick-Fil-A is the right way to go.

The executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, (personal opinion coming here:  a self-loathing group), R. Clark Cooper released this statement:  “Turning a chicken sandwich into Public Gay Enemy Number One makes LGBT people look superficial, vindictive and juvenile — everything that we as a community have  worked hard to overcome.”

I’m sorry Mr. Cooper, while you’re right that gay people and their straight supporters have fought a long battle for equality, whether it’s for marriage, job security, or basic rights, here’s where you’re wrong.  Raising awareness of who Chick-fil-A donates its money to is not “superficial, vindictive and juvenile”.

This is a battle that I am happy to fight.  We shouldn’t have to fight for the same rights as the next American.  When tax time comes each spring, I don’t get benefits for being a second-rate citizen.  I pay the same taxes as the next person without having the same federal rights.

I agree with Cooper that “the ‘movable middle’ moves both ways”.  The fight for full equality for the LGBT community will be won with the middle moving to the right side of history and equality.  But, it’s going to take those “superficial, vindictive and juvenile” gay activists (remember, those are the Log Cabin Republicans’ words and not mine) to raise awareness.  And, that’s what I do and I’m proud of it.

Tonight when I go to the Mississippi Valley Fair to see The Band Perry, I might have chicken.  But, it won’t be from Chick-fil-A.

Anthony