The Terrible Catsafterme

Of course I had a crush on Annie. Of course I did. Although the movie Annie might have been a little beneath me in 1982 when it came out, or at least not one I’d want to admit to my fellow ten-year old friends that I enjoyed. However, we had video-taped the movie and my sister Denise watched it over and over and over again, so I had ample time to catch sight of that adorable freckle-faced redhead’s face as she bellowed out Tomorrow, It’s the Hard Knock Life, Maybe, and Dumb Dog. All of the music just stuck with you and at times, I still find myself singing it. Read the rest of this entry »

I had planned on just staying home for the weekend after the intense schedule of traveling I had been enjoying for the past six weekends in a row, fully prepared to just hibernate in the house. But there was one thing that could rouse me to action and get me out – a celebrity encounter. When my former schoolmate Deborah Hileman posted a picture of herself standing next to Rob Schneider, my interest was piqued. He had played the Friday show at the Funny Bone comedy club, and when I checked I noted that he was there all weekend. I also sent her a quick Facebook note to ask if Rob simply came out to meet the crowd afterward. He did. Read the rest of this entry »

Although Bob and I had been tooling around various part of Massachusetts, mostly just outside of Boston, and even occasionally inside of Boston, I really hadn’t gotten the feeling of experiencing the real heartbeat of Boston. That was rectified on Friday, July 6, 2012. Looking back, it is amazing how full this day actually was. It began when we woke up in Braintree and started as early as possible. The Adams National Historic Site didn’t open until 9am, so that was the best that we could do. Read the rest of this entry »

For 166 years, only John Quincy Adams could claim to be both the son of a president and a president himself. Like George W. Bush, he would also have his father’s first name. And like his father John Adams, he would be a one-term president.  His tenure as Secretary of State was a much bigger success than his Presidency. He negotiated the annexation of Florida, ended the War of 1812, negotiated our northern border with Canada, and was the author of the Monroe Doctrine. But his tenure as the sixth President of the United States from 1825-1829, was sabotaged by a Congress controlled by many of political enemies, including Andrew Jackson, to whom he’d lose the election of 1828. Read the rest of this entry »

Paul Petersen had a rather lucrative TV career for nearly thirty years. He appeared in such shows as My Three Sons, F Troop, Lassie, The Flying Nun, Matt Houston, the unsold pilot of High School U.S.A., and in the Walt Disney film The Happiest Millionaire. But without a doubt his most notable role was in The Donna Reed Show, in which he portrayed Donna’s son Jeff Stone in 275 episodes. Back in the late 1990’s, I had my friend Bob pick me up a signed photo of Paul Petersen (directly below), but my chance to meet him didn’t come until February 11, 2012. Read the rest of this entry »