Myrtle Beach 1996
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
After Lisa and I returned from the Sons of the Desert Convention Cruise on Friday, July 19, 1996, we had two weeks back at the Peppertree Apartments before we would be heading out again for another vacation. According to my Sunshine Pocket Planner, those two weeks were plenty busy doing things like playing softball (Lisa and I were on a family co-ed team; she was on a woman’s team), watching all kinds of WCW Wrestling, watching movies, going to out to eat, and returning to work – for at least some of the time. Read the rest of this entry »
Despite the slow talking drawl, despite the incessant smile, despite the fact that in the real world he might be mistaken for a creepy pedophile, I’d still loved to have had Mr. Rogers as my neighbor. I grew up on the PBS staples of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Zoom – which each succeeding show for an older audicence than the one before. But even when I was ready for Zoom, I still secretly adored Mr. Rogers and the comforting make-believe surroundings he created. 
Like all Sons of the Desert conventions that came before it, the 1996 Caribbean cruise had its fair share of celebrity guests on board to share their memories of their work at the Hal Roach Studios and the associations with Laurel and Hardy. In addition to the actors of this era, famous Laurel and Hardy impersonators Chuck McCann and Jim MacGeorge were also on hand to do an appropriate skit and mingle with the swabs on board. Chuck and Jim had not jointly been seen at a Sons convention since 1980, so it was cool to have them back. 
It’s really a crying shame that entertainers like Soupy Sales, who were iconic in the minds of the baby boomer generation, are quickly hurling toward obscurity. As host of the wildly popular kids show Lunch With Soupy Sales, he regaled millions of children from 1959-1966. Today, even folks like me, who have certainly heard of Soupy Sales – and perhaps even seen him on game shows like What’s My Line? from the 1970′s - really don’t have much of a clue what he was all about. 
Wednesday, July 17, 1996, saw our third day aboard the Ecstasy cruise liner as we sailed the Caribbean during the 10th annual Sons of the Desert International Convention. We began the day with a hearty breakfast and then got ready for our excursion of the day. Some Sons members de-boarded the ship in Playa del Carmen for a Mayan Ruins Tour, but we were not among them. We waited until the 2:00pm stop and got off in Cozumel, Mexico.