The Terrible Catsafterme

In Dayton, the closest major family entertainment empire is the nearby Kings Island amusement park, nestled in the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio. Naturally, as I have grown older, the theme park has become less and less enjoyable. I am now much more susceptible to the heat, the headaches and nausea from the fast rides, and the stench of smoke, sweat, and body odor in the long, claustrophobic lines.

I hope this description does not make you think that the park is not fun though. When I was a kid, going to Kings Island was like visiting Walt Disney World’s younger brother (in an equation where Disney World = Heaven). And during those younger years – from about 1975-1980 – the pinaccle of this paradise was The Enchanted Voyage. Read the rest of this entry »

As you read earlier, Ashleigh and I visited the grave of Oliver Hardy’s mother during a brief stop in Atlanta on our way to the Augusta Sons of the Desert Convention. Following that, we headed to the airport to pick up my friend Bob. We had made good time getting to Atlanta and finding Miss Emmie Hardy’s final resting place, so we had plenty of time to visit the Jimmy Carter Library. Read the rest of this entry »

I just read this today and am actually pretty excited about it. Beatles producer George Martin is in the studio with his son creating a ‘new’ Beatles album. 

How is this possible? By taking the voluminous backlog of material and re-mixing it to create entirely new songs. For example, by taking the drum and bass track from one song, combine the lyrics of a different song, and the guitar solo from yet another song, an entirely ‘new’ track is created. What makes this more interesting is that the project has received the blessing of the Beatles and relevant custodians (Paul, Ringo, Yoko, and Olivia Harrison), who have heard some of the efforts. Ringo’s ‘jaw dropped’ when he heard Octopus’ Garden.

You might sometimes catch me bragging about joining the Sons of the Desert at such a young age. Although, there seems to be a resurgence of young people taking interest in Laurel and Hardy overseas, in America the Sons have aged right along with me. Here, people my age are still considered the “youngsters.” This is unfortunate on many levels, one of which is I think we will watch the Sons simply fade away here in America. There simply is no active effort to recruit and foster the younger fans to take the helm of the club as the old-timers retire from active duty.   

Anyway, I’m totally off the subject already. The fact is that I would bet you a week’s wages that I am the only person walking this earth under the age of forty who has met “Buckwheat,” Lucille Hardy, Spanky McFarland, Jacquie Lyn, Della Lind, Jean Darling, been to Hal Roach‘s house, and stood in the Liberty alley. These are just a few examples of how I was rewarded for getting into the Sons at such a young age. Read the rest of this entry »

I hope this is one of the few posts on this diary that has no accompanying visual aid, save this stock photo of a camera. The problem is I can’t post a photo here because of the nature of the topic.

Priorities change in life all the time. Ideas develop over the years and we often criticize ourselves for indescretions of the past… Read the rest of this entry »