A Final Word on Florida ‘95 (aka The Laurel and Hardy Trip)
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
Besides our meetings with Karl Slover and Olive Brasno during the Summer trip that Lisa and I took to Florida, the vacation really had nothing to do with Laurel and Hardy. Nevertheless, I was inspired to include some coverage, along with a clever narrative, of the trip in my tent newsletter Dante’s Info #14. The photo of me with the boys and Walt Disney, the “Toad in a Hole” shot seen at left, and the Tower of Terror photo of Lisa and me with the Disney characters (seen here) were all included in this piece – which was in actuality just a portion of Sim Sala Bim, the regular editorial column in Dante’s. (The Tower of Terror shot was captioned: Brad and Lisa meet up with Laurel and Hardy’s co-star in Hollywood Party, Billy Gilbert. Later we ran into Sneezy, who was voice by Billy Gilbert). Here is the text in full… Read the rest of this entry »
What can you say about meeting a cast member of the original Star Wars? On Sunday, October 2, 2005, Bob and I returned to the Hollywood Collectors Show for one sole reason: this was the only day that Carrie Fisher would be appearing. Bob opted not to purchase one of her signed photos for the low, low price of just $30.00, so I waited in line with my friend Steve Cox. Steve brought his own blue gelatin pen – perfect for signing dark photos. 
As Bob and I reviewed our plans for Thursday, August 9, during our trip around the great state of Virginia, we realized that they were a bit aggressive. There was so much to do – and all important things, particularly in the Charlottesville area - that we decided to take nearly two days to complete Thursday’s proposed activities and eliminate most of the items from our Friday list. Besides, we were getting nice and exhausted. 
I first met Matt Bohlander at the Church of the Brethren Regional Youth Conference (RYC) held at Manchester College in Indiana during the early part of April 1990. Matt was the youngest of the Bohlander brothers and I had seen him around Camp Woodland Altars several times in the past. His oldest brother Chris was actually a counselor at camp my very first year there in 1981. His brother Brian had been a counselor both of my years at Eco-Adventures, and was actually my counselor the second year. My friend Lee introduced me to Matt and we got to talking about music while stealing away to smoke cigarettes throughout the weekend. 
At right is a photo of Dad with his 1954 Hudson Hornet. He purchased this car in the Fall of 2001, drove it for a while after getting it up and running, and then spent two years meticulously restoring it to its nearly-original form (and color). He and Vicki have won ample awards showing this car at various exclusive car shows in the area, namely the prestigious Concours d’Elegance shows, since he completed restoration in the Summer of 2004. This year alone, they took Best in Class at the Ault Park Concours d’Elegance in Cincinnati and Second in Class at the Keeneland Concours d’Elegance in Lexington, Kentucky.