Trigger warning:  my wifey thinks this is gross

I’m hope you’ve had half as much fun this Christmas as I have playing with a pig part.

I haven’t had this much fun with a boar’s head since Joe Shook’s pig roast half a hundred years ago.  After eating, we took the head of the beast and stuck it on a pitchfork, finding a way to wrap somebody’s coat around its “shoulders”.  We put our creation in the back of Joe’s pickup and paraded it through the streets of Vicksburg.  Fun like you just can’t have in the big city.

I became aware of my need for another pig’s head during my recent trip to Santa Fe.  It was there many years ago I first learned about posole, a scrumptious soup/stew of dried corn and pork that I now whip up every year about this time.  In Mexico, where the dish originated, it’s called pozole.  Eating it is said to confer good luck for the coming year.  I’ve been making posole this time of year for several years using pork shoulder, and it’s been delicious. I’m sure it’s accounted for some good luck in the year to follow.  Here’s the recipe I worked up.

It was a communication with a lady of Latvian descent living in Kalamazoo that pointed me to another way to provide the pork.  Somehow, it came up in our e-mails that she and her friends were about to make up their own batch, this after I told her about the lovely multicolored posole I’d just bought in the SF farmers’ market.

Posole is a name also given to the dried corn that goes into the dish.  Its proper name is maiz Cacahuazintle, and is one of the favorite types of corn in Mexico (1). It has giant kernels that are whiter, softer, thicker, with rounder tops, than the regular white or yellow corn. It also has a deep, mealy bite.  North of the border its called hominy. 

The recipe at the end of the link my Latvian friend gave me (2) used a pig’s head rather than the chunks of pork shoulder I use.  Gotta have it!  Wifey wasn’t too enthused, probably thinking about checking the pot and seeing someone looking back at her.  Farmer Mark, who’s getting me the head, said the head meat is by far the tastiest part of the pig and that the posole he made with one last year was fantastic.

But of course, there’s always a problem.  I thought I’d only need half a head for my recipe and Mark can only get them whole.  So what do you do with leftover pig head?  My memory harkened to a treat that’s been lost for generations: head cheese.  You can still get it at some better delis.  There’s not a speck of coagulated casein in it.  Contents are entirely those from the boiled pig: chunks of whatever falls off the skull sitting in the congealed juice of whatever other stuff was extracted.  I don’t think I’ve had it since I was a little kid, when my one-time farmer grandparents made it and loved it.

Making headcheese is butt simple (3).  You just need a big pot and some patience.  All you muscle physiologists out there know that the more a muscle is worked, the tougher it will be.  How much work does Mr. Piggy smiling and chewing put through his head muscles?  So there they land in that gel ready for our ecstatic nibbling.  The only problem is consuming the product in time.  I think it can be frozen.

There are recipes that let you cheat (4), but how can you call it “head cheese” if there’s no head involved?! 

So I was geeked for head cheese, too.  When I picked up my head from Mark, I asked about cutting it in two.  He pointed out that pigs use the tops of their heads to “communicate” and thus the skull there was quite thick.  A dedicated bone saw like you’d find in a butcher’s shop would do it, with a home remedy being something like a Sawzall with a large enough blade.  I had one of those!   Visions of brains, blood, and gore flying though my garage got me to realize maybe one pig’s head recipe per season was enough.  I could feel Kathy’s relief as she stood behind me as I went through my logical progressions.  I also got to ask Mark about brains and eyeballs, which he said don’t factor into culinary uses of the modern-day pig’s head.  Kathy signed relief with that news, too.

The pig’s head, all 7 ½ pounds of it, came home frozen solid.

Of course, it had to thaw out first.  I put it into our smaller kitchen sink face down so it wouldn’t be looking at us the next 2 days.  More kudos from the missus.  At the end of the afternoon, some of his parts were already getting soft.  I moved him from the sink to atop the freezer in the garage.  Plenty cold out there these days.  Out of sight out of mind, even more kudos from the missus.

While the pig sits, there’s the posole itself to take care of (excuse me, ” maiz Cacahuazintle“).  You’d think that coming from a school with colors “maize and blue”, I’d respect maize.  Several steps to getting those kernels ready, the first being an overnight soak.   They emerged looking much fuller and prettier.

Displaying your soaked kernels in a glass bowl is totally optional to this recipe.

Next comes the chemistry experiment.  The soaked kernels have to be cooked in a basic (high pH) solution to be edible.  When the first few recipes I came across called for “slaked lime”, I panicked.  No store around here had such a thing, even when I checked for “calcium hydroxide”, what was what it was.  Fortunately, there’s nothing magic about this particular base. The same can be accomplished by good old baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).  Ya cook the soaked beans in enough of this till you can bite through ‘em, then let ‘em sit overnight.  Tomorrow I rinse ‘em, slide off the slimy coat from each kernel, then take and snip the tip from each kerne!  It was at this point in reading the recipe that I knew it was the Mexican women who cooked this.  The tipos probably slaughtered the pig and cut its head off, but sat back and drank beer while their ladies did the rest.  The snipping of each kernel tip produces a flower-like appearance so of course I thought to myself  I’m going to do it.  The modern male anal-retentive chef steps in to do what Mexican men wouldn’t.  But when I saw how many kernels I had the next day, I nixed this step.  I doubt the Mexican men appreciated the little flowerettes anyway, except maybe the gay ones.

The pause allowed for a photo shoot.  The star of the show here – Mr. Pig (or at least his head) – looks kinda like a nondescript chunk of meat in his previous shot as he came home in a bag from the farm.   I thought he should be displayed properly, so here he is on a silver platter, which I believe is the standard for displaying severed heads.

The platter was a wedding gift from my good friend and Barnes buddy Rajiv, who’s a strict vegetarian.

I’ve had some friends with that angular sort of face, but I won’t be making comparisons here.

Tomorrow, he goes in the pot with the coddled corn, some garlic and oregano, and a paste made with a bunch of soaked dried peppers.  Then just wait till meat falls off the bone.  I suppose the skull comes out then.  Like lots of stews, the longer it sets, the better it tastes.  I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to wait. 

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  First comes a simmering of that corn for about an hour.  Then it’s time to lower the pig’s head in.

After an hour or two of simmering, enough to cook up some broth, comes the step with the peppers.  You can’t make a Mexican dish without some dried chilis.  My recipe called for 6 guajillos, 6 anchos, and 4 regular chilis.  Alas, I only had the regulars. As it was Christmas eve at this point, I wasn’t going to run out to the Mexican grocery.  My stash included some souvenirs from Santa Fe and finds from Bombay Grocers, another culture that loves hot peppers.  So I used 6 New Mexicos, 12 sambars, and 8 kashmirii.  They still looked nice at the ready.

In my past attempt at posole, I just threw the dried peppers in.  My current operating instructions call for a little more manipulation.  You put the peppers in a bowl, ladle over some of that broth from the pot, let it sit for a half hour or so, then buzz everything in a blender.  That slurry mixes right in with the soup, enhances the color, and gives the flavor a nice punch.  Peppers in posole are more for the flavor than for the heat.  Fortunately, some people are            very serious about dried chilis, and measures of the heat level – indicated in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) – of chili varieties are available (5).  Here’s how my substitutes measured up to the intendeds

variety	SHUs	variety	SHUs
guajillo	2500-5000	New Mexico	800-1400
ancho	1000-1500	sambars (?nora)	500
“regular’ (?puja)	5000-10000	kashmiri	1500-2000

So it looks like I shortchanged the recipe on the heat side, although I used more of the substitute peppers than called for in the original.

I let the pot simmer till bedtime, then carried it out to the cold garage.   Sometime Christmas morning, pick away at any meat still left on the head, chop that up, heat it back up, and it’ll be ready!

That’s quite the task. While the pig’s head should yield 3-4 pound of meat, ya hafta go get it. It doesn’t just fall off into the pot like I expected. It’s just a matter of taking your kitchen knife to anything soft and digging away. I felt like I was earning the “…and surgeon” as it reads on my medical license. When I opened the beast’s jaws looking for even more soft stuff, I even felt like a porcine dentist. But the meat just keeps on coming. I think my pig would give the young Rob Reiner a run for his money (6).

That’s done.  Now who needs a fresh pig skull?  I’m thinking of throwing it over the back wall to spook the animals.  Probably still some good pickin’s on it, like the brain and eyeballs.  But I’m about to pick some posole out of a big bowl.  I’ve never doctored up the posole I made before, but what I read says Mexicans like to sprinkle on stuff liked sliced onions, radishes, and avocados, even broken up tortilla chips.  I’ve got ‘em all in the house, so Kathy and I will give ‘em a try, too.  Plus, any meal goes better with musical accompaniment, and I just realized John, Paul, George, and Ringo sang the perfect tune (7).

Have fun with this dish however you make it, and buen provecho!

P.S.  It wouldn’t be fair to leave you without the recipe:

References

1. Pat Jinich.  Corn.  Hominy, Maíz Cachuacintle, Mote, or Giant Corn.  https://patijinich.com/hominy_maiz_cacahuacintle_mote_or_giant_corn/

2. Rancho Gordo.  Classic Red Pork Pozole.  https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/classic-red-pork-pozole?_pos=8&_sid=a4238dd59&_ss=r

3. Homemade  Headcheese. The Elliott Homestead 12/8/14.  https://theelliotthomestead.com/2014/12/homemade-headcheese/

4. Pittman B.  Homemade headcheese.   The Cookful.  https://thecookful.com/homemade-headcheese/

5. Spices Inc.  How Hot are Dried Chile Peppers.  https://spicesinc.com/blogs/how-hot-are-dried-chile-peppers

6. All In the Family TV Show Wiki. Rob Reiner. https://all-in-the-family-tv-show.fandom.com/wiki/Rob_Reiner

7. el perro beatle.  Piggies – The Beatles (LYRICS/LETRA) [Original] (+Video).  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3bCtx7SNAE

I hope this doesn’t sound like bragging, but my wife and I never came down with COVID.  We never got vaxxed.  We never paid much attention to anyone’s guidelines except when forced, which of course was often.  We did get sick once, but it was when influenza A was sweeping the campus in November ‘21 and we joined in.  From the first news of a somewhat different potentially dangerous virus coming our way from China in 2019, I paid close attention.  With a master’s in microbiology and research experience in several virology labs, I knew about viruses.  A career in rheumatology includes grappling with the ins and out of the immune system, so I had that too.  I filled my blog with observations and opinions, eventually compiling them into a book (1).  I’m not seeking to reiterate here all the points I made that I think were, in retrospect, correct.  I just want to describe how Kathy and I lived it, showing up some glaring deficits in how the medical establishment powers that be missed chances to lead. As even Uncle Joe says the pandemic is over (2), I think it’s time for such reflections

We never hunkered down.  We went out freely to the few places allowed, like the grocery store, and hobnobbed with the employees there.  You couldn’t get into the store without a mask, but we never joined the idiots wearing those face diapers inside the car.  We got outside as much as possible.  Sunshine (through vitamin D) (3) and that fresh air (4) are great antivirals. We loved that walking exercise, knowing physical exercise can enhance immunity, including against coronavirus, through multiple mechanisms (5).  Our outings were marred only when we met the masked on the trail, which I tried to greet with a feigned cough, or outright confrontation (6).  We ate well, all home-cooked, and drank too much.  But when you’re dousing your hands with alcohol, should you neglect your insides?  We socialized, mingling with those friends and family who saw the pleasure of our companying outweighing the risk of contracting some dread disease.  Social interactions enhance immunity and resistance against viruses in particular though a number of mechanisms (7).  Social deprivation consequent to COVID mitigation efforts has had disastrous effects (8).  Did the medical establishment tell us about any of this?  Instead of hearing about positive things we might do for ourselves, we were constantly hectored about masks, distancing, and vaxx, vaxx, vaxx.  Oh, yeah, we also travelled, ultimately hitting California, Santa Fe, Colorado, Florida, and Chicago as well as multiple stops around our Mitten.  Travel was easier during COVID.  Crowds were way down, as scaredy-cats stayed home.  Prices for everything were cheaper.   As regular travelers, we were a bit sad to see the pandemic lift, as demand pushed ticket prices back up.

Our neighborhood Memorial Day get together was riven by the hostess’s imposed vaxx requirement.  My comments about the idiocy of it all (9) left scars that have not healed.  As COVID hysteria grew through 2021, it touched our University of Michigan when President Schlissel, a medical doctor, decreed that all the faculty shall be vaxxed before fall term started (10).  Just to get it out of the way, I quickly applied for a religious exemption and urged my still-teaching wife to do the same.  Mine was granted quickly but Kathy had to make a virtual visit with an allergist and regale her with tales of recurrent anaphylaxis. It took longer for Kathy to get news of her exemption, and she was never told which type it was.   So, she got to go into her office, but was treated like a pariah there, none of her colleagues deigning to visit her.  Plus, we had to go into campus to spit into a little tube weekly.  Never vaxxed but always test-negative, you’d think we’d be the safest people to be around.  But that’s not how we were received.  Those sheets of negative test results were necessary passports to most everything, like basketball games.  At least they didn’t impose proof-of-vaxx passports.  Today, when those Hiroo Onadas (11) whose establishments still ask, we just pass ’em by.

So, with Christmas 2022 coming, we approach the third anniversary of the release of that almighty ~ 100 nanometer (a human hair is 1000 times wider) ultimate game-changer.  Life seems almost normal nowadays, at least sometimes.  There are still the scattered idiots wearing masks (even in the open air and in shuttered cars!), obsessive-compulsive users of hand sanitizer, and implorations for “vaccination” and multiple “boosters” even though today’s coronavirus strains have mutated so far beyond SARS-CoV-2 they’re barely recognized by primed immune systems (12).  With proof lacking that vaxx impairs transmission, reduces infection, or does anything besides its original mission, at which it’s failed anyway (ha!), ya hafta wonder why anyone would bother getting jabbed at all.  We sure didn’t, and here we are, happy and healthy.  Plus we carry within us what may be the most valuable commodity in the world (13)!

Peace, Love, Health, and Merry Christmas!

References

1.Ike R. Musing through a Pandemic. My year and a half with Mr. Corona. Volume I. about Mr. Corona. Amazon (Kindle) 2021. ISBN: 9798530730. https://www.amazon.com/Musing-through-Pandemic-Year-Corona/dp/B098GV14KY/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3VTXFGNW63QK2&keywords=%22Robert+Ike%22&qid=1671647763&sprefix=robert+ike+%2Caps%2C242&sr=8-7

2. President Biden: “The pandemic is over” | 60 Minutes. YouTube 9/18/22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIQz0fsX38U

3. Ike B. sunshine on my shoulders kills my COVID. WordPress 11/23/20. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2020/11/23/sunshine-on-my-shoulders-kills-my-covid/

4. Hobday RA, Cason JW. The open-air treatment of pandemic influenza. Am J Public Health. 2009 Oct;99 Suppl 2(Suppl 2): S236-42. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.134627. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4504358/pdf/AJPH.2008.134627.pdf

5. da Silveira MP, da Silva Fagundes KK, Bizuti MR, Starck É, Rossi RC, de Resende E Silva DT. Physical exercise as a tool to help the immune system against COVID-19: an integrative review of the current literature. Clin Exp Med. 2021 Feb;21(1):15-28. doi: 10.1007/s10238-020-00650-3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7387807/pdf/10238_2020_Article_650.pdf

6. Ike B. Fauci’s feeble-minded fear-filled followers. WordPress 2/4.21. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/02/05/faucis-feeble-minded-fear-filled-followers/

7. Leschak CJ, Eisenberger NI. Two Distinct Immune Pathways Linking Social Relationships With Health: Inflammatory and Antiviral Processes. Psychosom Med. 2019 Oct;81(8):711-719. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000685. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7025456/pdf/nihms-1068346.pdf

8. Okabe-Miyamoto, K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2021). Social connection and well-being during COVID-19. World Happiness Report, 2021, 131. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shun-Wang-31/publication/350511770_World_Happiness_Report_2021/links/6063d797299bf173677dca9b/World-Happiness-Report-2021.pdf#page=133

9. Ike B. Thoughts shared with Donna on Decoration Day. WordPress 5/30/21. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/05/30/thoughts-shared-with-donna-on-decoration-day/

10. Office of the President. University of Michigan. COVID-19 vaccination requirement 7/310/21. https://president.umich.edu/news-communications/messages-to-the-community/covid-19-vaccination-requirement/

11. McCurry J. Hiroo Onoda: Japanese soldier who took three decades to surrender, dies. The Guardian 1/17/14. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/17/hiroo-onoda-japanese-soldier-dies

12. Wang Q, Iketani S, Li Z, Liu L, Guo, Y, Huang Y, Bowen AD, Liu M, Wang M, Yu J, Valdez R, Lauring AS, Sheng Z, Wang HH, Gordon A, Liu L, Ho DD. Alarming antibody evasion properties of rising SARS-CoV-2 BQ and XBB subvariants. Cell (2023), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.018. https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2822%2901531-8

13. Mercola J. Unvaccinated Blood is Now in Very High Demand. Epoch Times 12/20/22. https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/unvaccinated-blood-is-now-in-very-high-demand_4934809.html

We’ve invited our Colorado friend June to join us on one of our upcoming Chicago jaunts.  Seeking to gauge whether she might like the same things as we do, I mentioned our love of jazz clubs.  She came back saying she loves jazz clubs and also blues clubs.  Plenty of those in Chi-town, but it got me thinking about a blues club venture I’ll never forget.

I wrote to her: If you wanted to go to a blues club back in my day, here’s where I would have taken you for the real deal (1).  I went there once with a group of U of C med students.  It was only a 2 mile drive from U of C, but a world away, across Washington Park (the western edge of civilized Hyde Park), then up Indiana, three blocks from the Dan Ryan expressway, which Mayor Daley put in to really cut off the ghettoes.  Theresa’s was in a neighborhood called Bronzeville, and you can guess where that name came from.  When we lived in Hyde Park, we were taught our boundaries.  The northern border was 47th.  I lived for 3 years on 48th.  I never tiptoed an inch north.  There lies Bronzeville!  Buddy Guy’s club was on 47^th then, and we didn’t go there either. 

But Theresa’s was a trip, straight out of the movies.  From the street, it looked like somebody’s house.  There was a big chain across the door, which they lifted to let you in once you checked out.  You walked downstairs to the club, which was rockin’, in that bluesy sort of way.   I have no recollection who was playing.  As we stood there, our few white faces standing out big time, some of the larger local male patrons sidled up and asked respectfully “can we dance wiff yo’ dates?”  Um, yes, was the answer, and no harm came to anybody.  I’ll bet some of those girls can tell better stories than this one.  After a while, we headed back to our own world, knowing we’d had an “only-in-Chicago” experience.

Reference

1,         Chicago Bar Project.  Theresa’s Lounge.  https://chibarproject.com/reviews/theresas/

Kathy and are in the midst of our annual Chicago Christmas jaunt, taking in music and all the other wonders that make up Christmas in Chicago (1).  This afternoon, after a Chicago Architecture Center tour on the origins of the EL, we took in a matinee at Orchestra Hall.  These are great bargains, as they are never heavily attended, and we serve to bring down the average age of the audience.  Just the day before, I’d received an e-mail from my old friend John.  As across the street neighbors on Barton Lake, his piano tinklings competed with my blats on the trumpet.  John went much farther, making a career as a concert pianist, NYC and all, with an advanced doctoral-equivalent degree from the University of Cincinnati.

I was in high anticipation of the concluding piece, St. Saën’s Organ Symphony, having never heard it with a real live rafter-shaking organ.  The middle piece – Poulenc’s Concerto in G Minor for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani – provided Mr. Carpenter with ample opportunity for fireworks.   So, I was on the edge of my seat when intermission concluded, the orchestra filled back up to full force, and these Guest guys appeared.  I’d forgotten that St. Saēns doesn’t release the organ till the 4^th movement.  After the Poulenc, I was ready for lots more, and right now.  Like any good Frenchman, St. Saëns wove a seduction, Szep-Znaider employing in sections the ample talents of this wonderful orchestra.  Finally in the 3^rd movement, the vaunted Chicago brass stepped in – they’d sat on the sidelines for the Poulenc – and did they have plenty to say.  When they came back halfway into the last movement, they paired with their neighbor with the 5 kettle drums to build to an amazing climax, just in time for Carpenter to hit those pedals and bring this puppy in for a landing.  The crowd erupted in a way that would make a Frenchman proud.  If there were any dry eyes in the place, mine certainly weren’t among them.  I wanted Carpenter to come back and do “In-a-gadda-da-vida” for an encore.  Such was not to be as all we got was more applause to each player and section standing and taking a bow.  All-in-all a pretty good deal. 

I think Kathy and I will come back and do it again. Kathy is now addicted to sitting in Terrace.  See our view of the stripped-down orchestra getting ready for the Poulenc.  Sound from those instruments is omni-directional.

Scan here the many CSO offerings (2).  Look carefully for the “Terrace” seating option.  You’ll be surprised at how fun it is to listen to a concert at the back side of the orchestra.

But there’s no way you could be surprised at how much fun Chicago is at Christmas.  It’s an easy train ride from Ann Arbor and some of our Kalamazoo friends like to drive to Hammond and take the South Shore line in.  Bottom line, you do not need (or want) a car in Chicago.  Driving brings grief and parking pecuniary.  But it’s worth the trip regardless.  Michiganders, one of the greatest cities in the world is oh so close.  It would be folly to miss the opportunity.  Come.

PS. Not that online recordings can compete with the glory of the concert hall, here are links to the 3 works I head this afternoon (3,4,5).

References

1. ChooseChicago. Holidays in Chicago: Top Things to Do and See. 10/24/22. https://www.choosechicago.com/articles/holidays/top-chicago-winter-holiday-traditions/
2. Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Calendar. https://cso.org/concerts-tickets/whats-on
3. DisneyWorldMusic. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice [Paul Dukas]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gkj2QeogAsU
4. Olla-vogala. Francis Poulenc – Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings in G minor. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RduLr1Cp9Ls
5. hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Saint-Saëns: 3. Sinfonie (>>Orgelsinfonie<<) hr-Sinfonieorcherester . Iveta Apkalna . Riccardo Minasa. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GrO47WJKTI

…amoenam circumspice.  That’s the motto of my home state of Michigan, where I’ve lived for all but 9 of my 70 years.  I never want to leave. 

In English, it’s “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.”   Indeed.  Actually, we’ve got two, and they’re both pretty damned pleasant.  From trapping to logging to machining to fullout car manufacturing to the automated robotic manufacturing of the future, folks in my state have always made a pretty good living.  Agriculture has been important from the get go, and remains so.  That prosperity has supported a great university and a bunch of pretty good ones.  If you’d like to read about that arc, a little book by native son Bruce Catton –  he the author of many books on the Civil War, the third in his Army of the Potomac trio (1,2,3) winning the Pulitzer prize in 1954 –  Michigan: A History  is a good place to start.

It stops at the early 70s, but folks my age have lived through everything since.  It’s still available on Amazon, cheap used (4).

But this piece is about my kitchen, believe it or not.  When I wrote about my kitchen some time ago, I mainly focused on the hardware of cooking, the software needed (i.e. cookbooks and recipe boxes) and the staple ingredients, like spices (5).  I portrayed my kitchen as “my lab”, and it remains so.  But what about some of the accessories?  You might detect a theme.

Every chef needs a good cutting board, and I have several.  But I’m especially fond of a recent acquisition, spotted at the Jerome Country Market (6) where I’d gone to pick up my recently butchered lamb.

Handling those hot pots on the stove requires some protection, and a little shop on the Kalamazoo mall – K’zoo in the Mitten (7) – gave me the perfect mitt.  I’m on my second.  As you can see such items take a beating.

The big venting hood over the Viking range where I cook my stuff is a perfect place for the car magnets that adorn our Jeep on game day.

I’ll admit that not all my creations are perfect right off the stove.  Sometimes a little seasoning is in order.  Thanks to my sister Suzanne, I have the shakers for the job.

Presentation is everything, so when my creation calls for a big platter, I’ve got just the item.

Following the cooking and eating is always the cleanup.  The drudgery is lightened if you have something fun to wipe with.  I’ve stocked up so there’s always at least one clean one in the rotation.

So it’s for sure a Meechegan (!)(8) kitchen.  Should you come visit, I even have a beverage for you.

After your visit to my Harbal kitchen, I hope you’ll leave with a song in your heart – whether it’s ”Michigan my Michigan”(9) or “Hail to the Victors”(10) – and warm feelings for the dear state I’m so lucky to live in.

References

1. Catton B. Mr. Lincoln’s Army. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1951. https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Lincoln-Army-Bruce-Catton/dp/1298510848/ref=sr_1_9?crid=3MEA9UJBB1WAI&keywords=bruce+catton+civil+war+trilogy&qid=1671041515&sprefix=Bruce+Catton%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-9
2. Catton B. Glory Road. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1952. https://www.amazon.com/Army-Potomac-Glory-Road/dp/B000I74HEK/ref=sr_1_10?crid=3MEA9UJBB1WAI&keywords=bruce+catton+civil+war+trilogy&qid=1671041596&sprefix=Bruce+Catton%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-10
3. Catton B. A Stillness at Appomattox. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1953. https://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Appomattox-Army-Potomac-Vol/dp/0385044518/ref=sr_1_13?crid=3MEA9UJBB1WAI&keywords=bruce+catton+civil+war+trilogy&qid=1671041596&sprefix=Bruce+Catton%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-13
4. Catton B. Michigan. A bicentennial history. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1976. https://www.amazon.com/Michigan-Bicentennial-History-States-Nation/dp/0393301753/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2O4GMVEP3R929&keywords=bruce+catton+michigan+a+bicentennial+history&qid=1670439623&sprefix=bruce+catton+Michigan%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-1
5. Ike B. in my kitchen. WordPress 6/29/21. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/06/29/in-my-kitchen-2/
6. Jerome Country Market. https://jeromecountrymarketllc.com/
7. K’zoo in the Mitten. Sassy Extras. https://sassyextras.com/
8. How West Virginian Fielding H. Yost – the greatest Wolverine ever – pronounced “Michigan”. The affectation was carried forth by announcer Bob Ufer, voice of Michigan football ’45-’81
9. .Daniels J. Michigan my Michigan. YouTube. Produced by rkstudios450. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUtO91e3Apo
10. University of Michigan Fight Song. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF–ldYIBnM

I always wondered what I’d do with those two labels I’d so carefully soaked off a couple of magnificent bottles of booze from many Christmases ago.  They rested in a plastic basket next to my blue recliner amongst all the other stuff I didn’t know what to do with.  With my unexpected but wonderful reacquaintance with my Arlington rugrat cousins (1), a big window opened.  My late Uncle Jim had a real thing for nicknames and all his kids had one.  See my wife and me with 3 of them at cousin Linda’s Arlington house Saturday before last:

Left to right, it’s Rinnie-Linnie, me, Kathy, Sandy (forgot what her nickname was), Rugged Rick, and Maria, Linda’s EMT/firefighter daughter.  Not pictured is Uncle Jim’s son after Rick: Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy (Joe), currently a preacher. There are 5 more.

“Rinnie-Linnie” grew out of Linda’s girlhood love of the TV show about the intrepid German Shepherd Rin-Tin-Tin.  So, easy slip from “Rinnie” into “Rinnie-Linnie”.  When this accomplished schoolteacher in her 60s needs a nickname these days, she chooses “Linnie”.

So, when I was tidying up the many piles around my blue recliner and came across those labels (again!), it was obvious what needed to be done.  I made this scan:

and fired off an e-mail to my Rinnie-Linnie.  It would require some education for the teacher.  I wrote: “So they forgot a consonant – those Norskis – but still pronounced the same!  Kathy and I are both about a quarter Norwegian, with her mom’s sibs very big on observing their traditions, especially around Christmas.  One of them is aquavit (“water of life”), distilled from grain or potato and seasoned with caraway.  Especially good aquavit – like the stuff in the bottle that wore your label – spends at least one circumnavigation of the globe in the hold of a ship, the gentle sloshing said to enhance the flavor, especially if the ship crosses the equator.  The backside of the label (also shown) has a map of the voyage taken, dates of the voyage, and a tally of the number of times it crossed the equator.  Twice, for this bottle.  “Linie” is Norwegian for equator.

Drinking it is quite the ritual, as important a part of Little Christmas Eve (eve before Christmas Eve) as the gravlax (which we make).  The closer to frozen the aquavit gets, the more palatable it is.  I take an empty half gallon milk carton, put in the aquavit bottle, cover it with water, and let it freeze solid.  Peel away the milk carton and you’ve got an impressive looking chunk of ice with a perfect-temperature bottle of aquavit inside. Of course, the 80-proof aquavit doesn’t freeze, but it does get a little slushy.  The drinker pours out a shot glass, looks soulfully into the eyes of another in the room, raises his/her glass and says “skōl” meaning “cheers” or “good health”.  The person addressed just then must take a glass, fill it, then throw down the aquavit in one gulp at the same time the skōl-er does.  An aggressive skōl-er can get the room pretty shitfaced pretty quickly.  By tradition, the hostess/host is exempt from this ritual, as she/he must stay sober enough to keep the party going.

The Slaters I knew might have tippled a bit around Christmas, but I never saw them doing anything like this

As the Norwegians say: god jul!

Love

Bobby”

While I didn’t include it in Linda’s e-mail, here’s the recipe I use for gravlax.  Tim Laing is my colleague who gave us the recipe years ago, written out on 3 pages of a Naprosyn notepad.  We prescribed the stuff, a real good anti-inflammatory, in buckets back in the day.  Today it’s Aleve, over the counter in a much wimpier dose than what we use to dish out.

Reference

1. Ike B.  after Terry.  WordPress 11/11/22.  https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/11/11/after-terry/

When dear Darai, my double classmate (Vicksburg High, U of M) couldn’t remember ‘em, I knew I had to act.  She long ago moved to the land of fruit and nuts, and after Saturday’s joyous spectacle, got her family properly decked out to go to the boardwalk.

Seeing her little Max, I recommended she show him some videos of Whiskey and Brandy, stars of many football afternoons in our college days.  She said she didn’t remember them

If they have descendants with similar ball skills, one of them would be a refreshing addition to today’s Big House afternoons.  If you’ve been paying attention, you’d have recognized that Jimmy’s boys – until last Saturday – were playing pretty boring football: pound the ball then throttle the opposition.  Harkens back to those early 70s teams of Jimmy’s mentor, Bo.  We hippies sitting in the end zone with our bottles of Boone’s Farm used to hoot and holler, sometimes even boo, to have Bo open it up a bit.  Instead, Billy Taylor (now Dr. Taylor (1)) would run it into the line 35 times a game.  Like Jimmy’s squad, they won.  ‘71’s team went undefeated till the Rose Bowl.  So it was into this tedium that Whiskey’s owner, who had snuck the dog into the stadium under a blanket, would release this little terrier onto the field along with a soccer ball.  Whiskey had a nose for the ball and would push the thing length of the field.  Touchdown!  Some fan on that end would throw the ball the other way and there Whiskey would go again.

Whiskey could count on the loudest cheers of the game, other than those for Michigan touchdowns.  I think the authorities looked the other way as the crowd found the shows so entertaining.  Brandy, Whiskey’s pup, succeeded Whiskey and didn’t miss a beat.  For a year or 2 they performed together.

The athletic department accepted them, and fielded requests for more exposure.  The same department had been skittish about live animals on the sidelines ever since Fielding Yost brought 2 live wolverines to the Big House 10/22/27 for the dedication game against Navy.  Plans to bring the leashed wolverines to midfield to meet Navy’s goat were shelved when the animals proved too fierce in their week leading up to the game, and they stayed in their cages (2)

Whiskey got national attention when the TV crew caught her during the ’69 OSU game (3) which became immortal in its own right.  She got press coverage (4) and reminisces since (5,6).

Medical school took me away from the Big House, not to return till ’84.  No more doggies then.

Should Michigan football go to the dogs again?  They couldn’t handle the ‘dogs they met in the semis last year.  But this year’s team has a lot of their own DAWGS, according to their coach: “Dedicated Athletes With Grit”.  They’ve shown those teeth to 12 opponents so far, with us folks in AA hoping for more.  Yeah, I guess Jimmy’s teams play slightly more exciting football than Bo’s did, especially when they unleash that JJ guy.  But it would still be fun to see a little dog on the field again.

References

1.    Taylor B.  Get Back Up.  https://www.btgetbackup.com/about.html

2.     Dickson JD.  The wolverine that wasn’t.  Michigan Today 6/16/11.  https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2011/06/16/a8003/

3.     Dr.Sap. 1969 Michigan Ohio State Whiskey The Dog.  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFtNWBqfNC8

4.     Wright R.  ‘Whiskey’ — World’s Smallest Halftime Show in Football.  Mgoblue.com 9/22/10 (from 10/17/70 football program).  https://mgoblue.com/news/2010/9/22/_whiskey_world_s_smallest_halftime_show_in_football.aspx

5.     Dooley G.  Watching whiskey go (1969).  MVictors 1/11/15. https://mvictors.com/watching-whiskey-go-1969/

6.     Jennings C.  ‘Here comes Whiskey!’ The story of Michigan’s unofficial mascot, her rise to fame and the Ph.D. student behind it.  The Athletic 3/21/19.  https://theathletic.com/879659/2019/03/21/whiskey-the-dog-michigan-unofficial-mascot-david-rodgers/

In May 2020, I submitted a formal nomination for Commander Cody (born George W. Frayne IV) to receive an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of Michigan.  I was instructed to keep all things confidential, in part to protect the nominee who might not react well to not being chosen.  Well, George did not win the prize.  But as he’s been gone over a year, he won’t be affected by the news.  His widow, Sue Casanova, knows I did this and was moved by the fact.  So here is the document, complete with University boilerplate, that I submitted, preceded by some nice pics of the Ol’ Commander in his prime

People forget what a handsome, virile dude he was. Also a tremendous athlete who ran track and played football as a freshman at Michigan (so he says; he was also a world-class bullshitter).

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Honorary Degree

Nomination Guidelines and Submission Form

Criteria

Nominees should meet one or more of the following:

● The nominee should have demonstrable distinguished achievement in an activity related to the University’s missions of research and scholarship, education, or service.

● Ideally, there should be a particular reason for recognition of the nominee by the University of Michigan, such as an association with the University or a relationship of his or her achievement to work that is unique or highly characteristic of Michigan.

● The honorary degree should have a special meaning to the individual being recognized.

For information regarding eligibility, visit: https://president.umich.edu/about/committees/honorary-degree-committee/

The University’s Honorary Degree Committee meets twice a year, ordinarily in the Fall and Spring.

Questions can be directed to HDnominations@umich.edu or by calling (734) 764-4405.

ABOUT THE NOMINEE

Name of Nominee:	George W. Frayne
Title(s):	“The Commander”
Address:	11 Lonesome Pine Trail Gansevoort, New York 12831
Phone:	518-364-0999
Email:	gfrayne@aol.com

Please describe how the nominee has demonstrated distinguished achievement in an activity related to the University’s mission of research and scholarship, education, or service (in 1,000 words or less):

George Frayne entered the Art and Architecture school as a dedicated student of the arts, but left with a love of music superseding.  The Art & Design school has graduated many creative people over the years, but has there ever been a more unique individual than George Frayne?  Coming to Ann Arbor from Long Island, son of two established artists, he succeeded in his studies, earning a scholarship to pursue graduate work.  His sculptures populated North Campus.  He offered a jovial comment about his sculptures “I just weld bumpers together and pass it off as art”.   He earned a B.S. in Design (’66) and and an M.F.A. in Painting and Sculpture (’68).  He garnered a faculty position at the Wisconsin State University – Oshkosh, but it was music that would propel his early career.   His studies did not interfere with his extracurriculars, or vice versa.  A meeting while he was washing pots at Phi Kappa Psi with an engineering student with a penchant for country music led him to put his 9 months of boogie-woogie piano lessons in high school into a band that eventually became “Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen”. They started as entertainment for frat parties and grew to a group that would entertain 100s of 1000s across concert stages throughout the US and abroad.   The brand of music they portrayed is what would now be called “Americana”, delving into older often obscure tunes for a “hippie” audience surely hearing them for the first time.   Consider this an educational activity, introducing us hippies to styles we wouldn’t have otherwise encountered?  In his time based in Berkeley, he and his Lost Planet Airmen became a favored opening band to better known groups.  As such, George has worked with, and gained the respect of, many of the greats in the music industry.  He’s even appeared aside Godzilla in a Hollywood movie.  Of their many albums, one (“Live from deep in the heart of Texas”) has made it into Rolling Stone’s 100 best albums of all time.  The band’s journey into “almost making it big” has been chronicled in Starmaking Machinery, Geoffrey Stokes (c1976, Bobbs-Merrill).  The Lost Planet Airmen broke up in 1976, but George (“the Commander”) has continued to record and tour, his raucous concerts a must see for those who appreciate what he’s been doing.  The band’s biggest hit “Hot Rod Lincoln” rose to #9 on the Billboard hot 100 and was ranked No. 69 on the U.S. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972.  He’s released 34 albums and has had several other Billboard hits.  In 2011, the Commander and His Lost Planet Airmen were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  He’ll hold forth on his love for his days of Michigan to whomever might ask.

George has been at least as active with his art as with his music.  He has never left behind his art.  Some critics even considered the Lost Planet Airmen to be an art project.  This was before Andy Warhol was doing just that with Velvet Underground.  Canvas and metal drew him, as did the faces of the many performers he encountered.  Big vehicles – cars, ships, airplanes – also caught his attention for acrylic hyper realism.  He also delves into Cubism.  He’s exhibited in galleries from Tokyo to London, and in museums including The Museum of Natural History, the Saratoga Auto Museum and at the Directors Guild in Hollywood.   He’s been in 11 group shows from “63-’94, and participated in the ’78 “StarArt” book published by Dorothy Cheshire with Joni Mitchell and Cat Stevens, now quite valuable https://www.amazon.com/Starart-Joni-Mitchell/dp/096900530X.  He’s had 30 one man shows from ’68 –’09.  He’s participated in 5 national juried shows from ‘68 –’05.  His paintings of 12 immortal rock performers graced the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  He published in 2009 his own book of art renderings coupled with anecdotes of the person portrayed.  The book Art, Music, and Life (Q Book Press, 2009) contains pop-art portraits of music legends from Willie Nelson and Jerry Garcia to Sarah Vaughan and Charles Mingus. It also showcases abstract works, still lifes and elaborately painted sculptures. The book is also filled with anecdotes of a bygone era, each story accompanied by colorful portraits and paintings, over 100 images in all. He recalls meeting Hunter S. Thompson, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa and other cultural icons https://www.amazon.com/Music-Life-Commander-George-Frayne/dp/0984265007/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=george+frayne&qid=1612715941&sr=8-1.  Judging from Amazon, it’s now something of value.  Since his brother Chris died of multiple sclerosis in ’92, he’s illustrated all his band’s albums and posters.  He continues to paint, even on commission.  He’s not sculpted for 30 years, citing lack of access to appropriate welding equipment.  He used to sell his art out of his web site.  He’s withdrawn examples, asking those interested to contact him directly for the $25 – $10,000 pieces he features.  Google for George Frayne art still finds offerings.    He’s taken up video over the past decade and has embellished many old CC&LPA songs with amusing overlying clips of old Hollywood movies.  He maintains a YouTube site as well as a Spotify site for his music.  He was part of the Future Former Alumni exhibition at Stamps School of Art and Design in 2018.  He still does portraits of famous automobiles for the Saratoga Auto Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he currently resides.   He’s also lectured at 8 colleges and universities around the country; his topic: “The Function of the Sub-conscious Mind Creating Fun”.

In summary, in the early 60s, George Frayne brought considerable talents to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, where he nurtured and applied them.  He has had a productive and fascinating dual career in the arts for over 50 years, entertaining and challenging millions around the world.  His Lost Planet Airmen have been my favorite band since I first snuck into Hill to see them in April ’71.  I’ve always enjoyed pointing out to others that not only were they born in a U of M frat house, but that their leader is a Michigan Man all they way.  And not a bad painter and sculptor, either.  Please recognize this iconoclastic genius graduate of our University with the doctorate that will suit him well, while he’s still with us.

Please tell us if there is a particular reason the nominee should be recognized by U-M, i.e. a relationship with the University or an association of his/her achievement to work that is unique or highly characteristic of Michigan (in 100 words or less):

George is a proud U of M alumnus with 2 degrees from this institution.  As a student, he made an impact on both town and gown with his art and his music and has turned that on the world since his departure.  On February 17, 1974, he was included in a Michigan Daily Sunday Magazine article on “’U’ alumni: The rich, powerful, and notorious”, a group of 33 that included soon-to-be President Gerald Ford, two senators, governor Soapy Williams, astronaut Jim McDivitt, 5 CEOs, Cazzie Russell, Tom Harmon, and Arthur Miller.

Please tell us if the honorary degree would have special meaning to the nominee. If so, please describe in 50 words or less:

What if Mr. Frayne had not ventured from Long Island to Ann Arbor in ’62?  His zany, improbable dual careers were born and nurtured right here at U of M, to which I’m sure he’d be proud to pay homage by wearing the robe and cap of a Michigan doctor. 

Are there any circumstances that the University should be aware of in considering this nomination, which are related to a specific commencement date or a particular situation of the nominee? Please explain in 50 words or less:

George’s once robust good health has taken a blow, especially since undergoing a 7 hour operation at a New York City hospital last December.  His family wishes that further details of his medical condition be kept private.

Would it be appropriate for this nominee to deliver a commencement address? Check one:

Yes √                   No

If yes, please briefly explain in 50 words or less:

While George has experience speaking to college audiences, I think the best way for him to acknowledge his honor would be with his music.  I’m certain he could enliven the graduation proceedings with a performance of one of his songs, or maybe several..

NOMINATOR INFORMATION

Name of Nominator:	Robert W. Ike, M.D.
Title(s):	Emeritus Associate Professor of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine Division of Rheumatology University of Michigan Health System
Address:	1611 Harbal Drive Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105-1815
Phone:	734-474-6728
Email:	scopydoc52@yahoo.com

Where to submit the Nomination

Nominations submitted via this form should be emailed, mailed or faxed to:

John Godfrey

Assistant Dean

Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies

1120 Rackham

915 East Washington Street

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1070

Phone: (734) 764-4405

Fax: (734) 615-3832

Email: jgodfrey@umich.edu

As I just wrote to many dozens of my dear friends: I hope you and yours had a joyful and bounteous Thanksgiving.  With the large avian consumed, what can it mean but It’s Christmas!  Kathy and I invite you to review some of our adventures of 2022 in our attached Christmas letter.

Yes, it’s Christmas letter season, and here’s ours, in case you’re not on our e-mail list.

Dear friends:

With Christmas ads and decorations coming at us before Halloween, what can be the proper time to send out a Christmas letter?  Kathy and I still try to observe proper Holiday decorum, cutting down our tree day after Thanksgiving and waiting to put up the lights till after we’ve beaten Ohio State.  If I finish this before then, out it goes.

So, here’s how our year went.

January

We were supposed to start the year in Scotland, celebrating Hogmanay, their New Year’s blowout, instituted when Mary Queen of Scots forbid Christmas celebrations in 1561 as they were too pagan (https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/12/31/hogmanay/).  COVID put the kibosh on our 9-day trip as a 10-day quarantine would have been required.  We’ll do it this December.  We took our pleasures closer to home, mainly with sports.  In a recurring theme, we had to cancel out of a trip to Santa Fe to see Lucinda Williams because COVID.  We did see an ancient Gordon Lightfoot (80) in Royal Oak.

February

COVID couldn’t crush my Bulldogs as we took the train to Kalamazoo to dip down to the ‘burg to see our boys almost take those pesky Eddies of Edwardsburg, old friend, and teammate Dan Walters at my side.  For our Valentine’s Day date, Kathy and I finally made it to the Blue Llama, Ann Arbor’s outstanding jazz club (https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/02/15/blue-llama/).

We endured February till flying to Tampa for a week on Madeira Beach.  Spring Break, doncha know, Kathy’s last.  While there, we saw a magnificent performance by Rodney Crowell at Capitol Theater in Clearwater. We executed much of the Gulp Coast craft beer trail, for which we’d eventually collect our bounty in October.

March

Marked the second anniversary of Governor Whittmer’s first COVID lockdowns.  We celebrated by gathering up from house and cars all of our masks, throwing them in the fireplace, dousing them with torch fuel, and setting them ablaze (https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/03/11/burn-on-ii/).  It was a magnificent conflagration.

We haven’t missed them.

April

We saw a lot of music, from Darryl Hall/Todd Rundgren in Cleveland, Lucinda Williams in Ann Arbor, to James McMurty back in Cleveland to gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembell back home at the Blue Llama.  A quickie trip to the ‘burg around Tax Day didn’t turn out as planned.  We were supposed to meet up with some folks at the Distant Whistle then go take in the Paw Paw baseball game.  It rained, so we were stuck at the Distant Whistle with folks that included my 87-year-old former basketball coach Tom Horn and his lovely wife Vickie.  That’s Coach next to me and Dan Walters next to Coach.  Sweetie, Vickie, and Rhonda opposite 

We subsisted on subs from Franco’s and lots of Distant Whistle’s product.

May

In Ann Arbor, that means graduation ceremonies.  These were to be Kathy’s last, emotional events.  So, a week later I whisked her off to California.  Our time in the Bay Area got us to her brother Bob’s “commitment ceremony” in the woods near Pescadaro, featuring my nephew Skyler wearing a white horse’s head galloping in bearing the rings.  That Friday, we got to go to Petaluma to participating in the “Safety Meeting” conducted by my old Barnes buddy Dave in the back room of Macelli’s hardware store.  The next morning, we were off to San Diego for a week on Windnsea Beach, this time in a place that wasn’t “steps from” but “on the beach!”  See our view.

And at Windnsea, the audio can surpass the visual.

June

Kathy finally got her official retirement party.  Nothing like last year’s blow out at Dominick’s, but the people important to her showed up and said nice things.  When her dean joshed would she like to come back and teach a class or two, Kathy replied “bite me!”.  She still came home with a nice chair and now we have a matching set in our living room (https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/06/01/michigan-chairs)

In our previous trips to Kalamazoo, Kathy grew fond of the many topiaries in little Bronson Park.  She befriended the groundskeeper who referred her to River Street Flowerland where she could learn the art and purchase one of her own.  Kalamazoo is the bedding plant capitol of America and River Street is ground zero.  One industrial greenhouse looks pretty much the same as the other, so only Kathy’s eagle eye found the topiary place.   She found a nice 3-part sea serpent – whom she later named Cecil (remember him and Beanie?) – and learned to care for it. 

I used the time to go cross town and have lunch with some old ‘burg classmates.  I spent more time with Hooch and Marsman than Kathy did with Cecil, so she was waiting for me when I got back.  Unfortunately, my arrival was announced by the crash of a truck smashing my Patriot.\

Befuddled by the endless greenhouses, I thought a poke into the intersection might point the way.  Instead, I ended up in Bronson’s ER.  Just a cracked vertebra that would heal, and now we had the excuse to get the 4 door Wrangler softtop we’d been wanting.

We still managed to make a Detroit weekend outing the next week, taking in a Tiger’s game with my brother and my favorite nephew, watching our boys rise up and devour my Torontan baby sister’s faves, the Jays.  We rested up the rest of June to get ready for what was to come.

July

Mom had lobbied for it for at least a couple of years.  She was set to turn 90 this mid-July and wanted to celebrate that big day in Ireland.  With 25% Irish Kathy sharing that birthdate and about to see 64 – still needed and fed – it was a no-brainer to join this family outing with my two tall sisters.  We alighted in Shannon, spent nearly a week by the sea in Dingle, headed to Kilkenny where parties would be held in a fine hotel by the park and then a castle.  The girls posed the day after the second party still wearing their party hats.

We left shortly after from Cork, carrying 10 bottles of fine Uisca bethea, of which the most expensive would be confiscated in Orlando after being assessed as a possible bomb

We learned at the end of the month from Singapore Airlines that the credits we had from flights we’d booked but later cancelled a year and a half ago would expire at the end of August.  Thus, begat a mad scramble search for suitable Asian destinations.

August

Except for a quick trip to Kalamazoo for follow up on my broken back, we were going to rest up.  Then came an e-mail that the first of 3 celebrations of the life of the late Commander Cody was set to take place in Troy, outside of Albany.  It took less than 2 hours to make the arrangements and 2 weeks later we were there.  There would be 2 more.

It was almost Too Much Fun.  You can read more about it here (https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/08/28/rock-dont-cry/).

We had almost 3 days to rest up for the trip to Phuket (“poo-ket”) Thailand.  It took almost that long to get there.  We enjoyed the food and especially the big animals.

September

As we rested up from Thailand, Sue Casanova (Mrs. George Frayne a.k.a. Commander Cody) announced Celebration of Life II, to take place in Mill Valley.  It was a short trip, but one that allowed some time with Jimmy & Janet and kids plus two great concerts.  Bill Kirchen, our good friend, and the Commander’s former lead guitarist, played in Novato before the COL, which wasn’t as good as the first as it featured more of the folks who joined up with Commander after the Lost Planer Airmen broke up.  We did get to have dinner with Bill and wife Louise beforehand, though. Super treat.

Home nearly a week and a half, we spent a couple days in Grand Rapids then came back and boarded the train for Chicago where we’d spend a week.

October

Chicago was highlighted by dinner with Tom Schnitzer, my lab mentor during fellowship and the person who introduced me to Kathy.  Forever grateful.  Our evening at Le Piano in Rogers Park was a wild time (https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/10/02/le-piano/).

In a week and half, we were off to Florida, where we’d spend a week in our house right on Madeira Beach, mostly sitting on the porch watching the waves roll in and the pelicans and dolphins go by and wait for the day to end.

Shutesie and his young bride (VHS ’73) stopped by for a couple days of nonstop fun.

Home long enough to see the Spartoons roundly thrashed and …

November

…catch the wonderful Karla Bonoff at the Ark.  Then we were off to New Jersey.  New Jersey?  We like to do one football road trip a year, and this year the stars aligned for Piscataway.  New Brunswick, which is where Rutgers U (birthplace of college football) actually is, is quite nice.  The game was entertaining, much the way the spectators at the Colliseum felt about the lions.  You can read more about it here (https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/11/07/an-evening-in-piscataway/)

A week and a half back, we were off for the Land of Enchantment.  We’d meet up with June in Santa Fe, a place she knew from working with late husband, and my dear friend, Sam at Los Alamos many years while Kathy and I had visited her brother Bob there many times.  We didn’t do much other than sit around our very nice AirBnB, talking, drinking, and eating my cooking.   A morning stroll to the lot across from Kaune’s grocery where sat the the coffee cart for our caffeine choices plus a hot donut fresh out of the fat our only regular outing.   Good for all of us, I think.

December

So, it’s home for a few breaths before a quick jaunt to DC for Puck’s – Kathy’s NASA boss -retirement party and while there a meet up with some cousins I haven’t seen for over 40 years.  Mid-month will find us in Chicago for all the Christmas wonder and several concerts, then home for our own Christmas until we push off for Edinburgh 4 days after that.  Happy New Year.

No, this isn’t an announcement for a pop Zoom.  We’ll still wait till next year for the next one.  With this email I just want to give you all a little present for the Season about to unfold. 

Every year about this time, Gary, the guy who rebuilt my house in ’04-5, sends me a little trinket born of his unique skills, as he does to all his customers, past and present.  It’s clearly labeled as a Thanksgiving present.  Gary’s Jewish, and sending out a present at this time  avoids the conflicts of Christmas.  Plus it keeps his gift from being buried under the avalanche to come.

You can’t wrap this one and put it under your tree.  It’s totally digital.  You might recall that nearly all the VHS70 Zoom announcements       I sent out from July 2020 onwards contained at least one link to a tune on YouTube that I thought was somehow relevant to us at this stage of our lives.  I’ve compiled all those links, organized the tunes into 7 categories, and list them below.  I’ve also posted the whole communication on my blog, which you can reach with this convenient link                      

About small towns                 

tune                                         artist                                         released

Small Town (1)                       VHS kids                                  ‘07

Great job guys.  Was the “Shimp” guy related to one of ours?

Just Us Kids                            James McMurtry                     4/15/08

Big Day in a Small Town       Brandy Clark                            6/10/16

Small Town                            James McMurtry                     ‘89

In a Town this Size                 John Prine                               9/28/99

Friendship

tune                                         artist                                         released

Long May You Run                Neil Young                             9/20/76

Old Friends                             Guy Clark                               12/1/88

We’ll Meet Again                   The D-Day Darlings               ‘18

I Knew You When                  Bob Seger                               11/17/17

Love & Romance

tune                                         artist                                         released

I Got You Babe

(from Groundhog Day)           Sonny & Cher                         7/9/65

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyBSrBqogPY (2/12/93)

Three Days                             Willie Nelson                          9/9/62

96 Tears                                  ? & the Mysterians                 8/66\

What Kind if Fool Am I?       Anthony Newley                     ‘62

Mr. Brightside                        The Killers                              9/29/03

It’s Hard to Kiss the Lips       The Notorious Cherry Bombs 7/27/04

at Night that Chew Your        (featuring Rodney Crowell)

Ass Out All Day  Long                                                          

Some good ol’ Rock’n’Roll (&Soul) from our days

tune                                         artist                                         released

Ooh La La (I wish knew then Faces                                       3/73

I knew what I know now)

Ooh La La (I wish knew then Rod Stewart                            5/18/98

I knew what I know now)

Rod softens it a bit

Time Has Come Today           Chambers Brothers                 11/67

(trigger warning: many raw, violent, and disturbing images from those times)

Feelin’ Alright                        Traffic                                     ‘68

Feelin’ Good                           Traffic                                     5/69

Rock & Roll Soul                   Grand Funk RR                      8/66

(live) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHSvSOLYYEE

(studio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8jO6h9YeeQ

Closer to Home                       Grand Funk RR                      7/70

(I’m Your Captain)

I always thought this as sort of a theme song for our class, but it was released after we graduated

Closer to Home                       Mark Farner w/Ringo             6/27/08

(I’m Your Captain)                 Starr’s All Stars

Hot Rod Lincoln                   Commander Cody &              12/10/71

                                              His Lost Planet Airmen

live at the Johns Sinclair Rally at Crisler in’71, where they stole the show

So it Goes                      Nick Lowe                                      8/14/76

Dealing with life these days

tune                                         artist                                         released

Don’t Worry, Be Happy         Bobby McFerrin                     8/88

for fun, identify the other participants in the video

Let the Picture Paint Itself      Rodney Crowell                      ‘94

It’s a Great Day                      Paul Thorn                              ‘08

What They Say                       Chris Smither                          6/19/12

You Just can’t Beat                 Billy Joe Shaver                      5/21/80

Jesus Christ

Half a Hundred Years             Asleep at the Wheel                10/1/21

Roy Benson and the rest have been right there with us

In the Living Years                 Mike & the Mechanics           12/27/88

as our old folks depart, such are the emotions

Just fun

some leftover YouTubes and videos

tune                                         artist                                         released

Euphemisms                           George Carlin                         ‘90

(video)

The wise Professor Carlin weighs in

Peter Sellers,                           Dr. Strangelove final scene    ‘64

George C. Scott et al

(video)

“Mein führer, I can valk!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf9iTZ433zs

Two Triple Cheese                 Commander Cody                   5/80

Side Order of Fries

This video is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and the director won an Emmy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Cvg5VCpT4

Sprockets (Video)                   Mike Meyers (SNL)               3/22/97

“Now iss de time that ve dahnse”

“We Did It”

OSU-UM highlights (2021)    Meyers Media Family             11/29/21

(video)

The joy of beating the Buckeyes to “Mr. Brightside” as a soundtrack

I Saw Mommy Kissing           John Prine                               ‘93

Santa Claus

A Christmas favorite. “On the lips!”

2020 Super Bowl                    Bill Murray                             2/2/20

Bowl Jeep Gladiator Commercial

(video)

Bill revisits Groundhog Day to sell the Jeep Gladiator.  I want one!

References

1. Tabor A.  VHS Kids.  Small Town.  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpwDXiOXgjA. 

2. “Just us kids”-James McMurtry.  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH5hTwWgHp0

3. Brandy Clark – Big Day In A Small Town (Official Audio).  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hIFMB2TW7c

4. James Mcmurtry Small Town. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_pvmEH7LJE

5. John Prine – In A Town This Size.  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLMuQbYB4vM

6. Neil Young – Long May You Run (unplugged).  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYna-UAt75c\

7. Guy Clark – “Old Friends” [Live from Austin, TX].  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0OmFK38_ZU

8. The D-Day Darlings – We’ll Meet Again (Official Video).YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sThuGZcEtuU

9. Bob Seger – I Knew You When (Official Lyric Video).YouTube.

10. I Got You, Babe – Groundhog Day.  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyBSrBqogPY

11. Willie Nelson -Three days.  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GENfFXmLUHw

12. Question Mark & The Mysterians – 96 Tears. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7uC5m-IRns\

13. Anthony Newley – “What Kind Of Fool Am I” – 1962.  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ngh79TLw_Y

14. The Killers – Mr. Brightside (Official Music Video).YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGdGFtwCNBE

15. The Notorious Cherry Bombs – It’s Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night (Official Video). YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjkLf_X88WM

16. Ooh La La – The Faces (Without A Paddle Soundtrack).YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhjHBV20ZV4  

17. Rod Stewart – Ooh La La (Official Video). YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEniy4CmSZQ 

18. Time Has Come Today(Chambers Brothers-Long Version)with no cuts to song.YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zfgoJzOCgg 

19. Traffic – “Feelin’ Alright?” – Original LP – HQ.  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvAByzXT1U8  20.

20. Traffic – Feelin’ Good.YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkqGTw-WjIs   

21. GRAND FUNK RAILROAD – Rock & Roll Soul. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHSvSOLYYEE   

22. Rock ‘N Roll Soul (Remastered 2002).  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8jO6h9YeeQ  

23. Closer To Home (I’m Your Captain). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvOPucs7dC0  

24. Mark Farner with Ringo’s All Star’s; “I’m Your Captain”.  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQbZpmR_eGw  0:07 / 2:22

25. Robert Ike.  Hot Rod Lincoln by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen 12/10/71. YouTube.

26. Nick Lowe – “So It Goes” (Official Music Video).  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEpr8kaczck  

27. The Real Bobby…Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy (Official Music Video).  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU  

28. Stone Cold Country.  Rodney Crowell- Let the Picture Paint Itself (1994).YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiHYOiY4dB4

29. The Bob & Tom Show.  It’s a Great Day – Paul Thorn. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7yZ_V0KYDw

30. Chris Smither -Topic. What They Say You Tube.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1CmdTxO5XU  

31. billy joe shaver – you just can’t beat Jesus Christ.  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psvV10pohMw

32. Asleep at the Wheel Official. Asleep at the Wheel – ‘Half A Hundred Years’

33. Mike & the Mechanics.  Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years (Official Video).  You Tube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hr64MxYpgk 

34. The Living Years (2005 remasater).  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TL_oJL0r0U

35. poyani.  George Carlin -Euphemisms.YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc

36. Lauren69.  Dr. Strangelove – Ending

37. Revisionxvieo.  Two triple cheese side order of fties – Commander Cody.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Cvg5VCpT4.The 

38. TrevorWarren.   Spockets Dance.  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHZR9SA5pOg 

39. Meyers Media Family.  “We Did It” | Michigan vs Ohio State 2021..  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ak9Uxtntfk    Vladimir Bira.  

40. John Prine – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. YouTube. https://ww.com/watch?v=63KkLy0wyNI w.youtube

41. beastlychariarzard13. 2020 Super Bowl Extended Bill Murray Jeep Commercial.  YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3qH4TKLP0c