Vanna, Please Turn My Letter…
Saturday, June 28th, 2008
…into an autograph! Because she was pretty and because I often watched Wheel of Fortune while growing up, I sent off an autograph request to the lovely Vanna White on September 12, 1997. I remember this show from the days not long after my age was adding on a second digit – in the days when contestants would take their winnings and ‘go shopping’, buying such an odd assortment of prizes as a vaccum cleaner, a painting of a smoking dog, a trip for two to Merry Old England, and a bag of licorice. Everything was way overpriced, the licorice probably costing about $25. Read the rest of this entry »
The storms that hit the area the night before while we were staying at the condom-laced Motel Six in McKinney, Texas just outside Dallas brought the cold weather back to the area on the morning of Friday, April 4, 2008, our last full day of the trip. This meant that it also brought back my ugly orange sweatshirt which I had only brought along to use in Dayton, but was now donning for the second time of the week. I had no choice, it was downright cold that morning! After leaving our motel, Bob stopped for a Krispy Kreme and I foolishly declined a donut. 
Happy Days has always been one of those shows that I had always enjoyed whenever it happened to be on TV, but that I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch. And still, even as the proud owner of the first three seasons of the series, I generally pop it in when I want some ‘comfort food’ sitcoms to grace my screen. But no one who lived through the late 1970’s can forget the Fonzie phenomenon as he made motorcycles, leather jackets, and greasy hair cool again. 
If it is true that Sherwood Schwartz was only responsible for making crap on telelvision, then it was crap that has made a huge group of people very happy for a huge number of years. One of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid was Gilligan’s Island, Schwartz’ first successful creation. I have since outgrown this show and now recognize the crap-factor, but it hasn’t stopped me from owning every single solitary episode on DVD. 
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 was another busy day to add to my bustling vacation on the West Coast. Jimmy and I had been up late the night before catching our appearance on