Moments

The other day I experienced a senior moment and a "duh" moment only minutes apart. I was approaching a flight of steps at work, and normally I take them in stride, but this time I suddenly realized I was taking short, little half steps as I approached the stairs, as if I had to be extra cautious or I might fall. It was like, Oh my God, I've aged 10 years since yesterday!!

Then, a bit later I was trying to come up with something seasonal to post on here and I couldn't think of anything really related to Christmas and school, and then it hit me... we weren't in school at Christmas. Well duh! Now we did "pick names" in grade school and swap gifts just before Christmas break, but I can't think of a solitary thing during high school that relates to Christmas.

Can you?

Reminiscing

Christmas is for reminiscing, and believe me, I do my share.

In the spring of 1972, just prior to getting married, the USAF sent me to a mandatory 2 day seminar. They also strongly suggested that your fiance be there too if it was possible but it wasn't possible for mine so I sat and listened to all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that awaited young married folks in the military and dutifully kept the many brochures and pamphlets to share with her later. Several of the topics were supposedly to gauge how compatible the two of us were, you know, like when one falls backward and trust your partner to catch you, and things like that. Anyway, everyone had their fiance with them except for one lady, and God only knows why, but they paired us up to go through the "compatibility tests". So, she would catch me and I would catch her. We joked at the end of the seminar that maybe we were more compatible with each other than with whoever we were going to marry and maybe we should hook up. We didn't of course and we both went our separate ways. But there have been times that I've thought of her, and the way she filled one of the odd little spaces in my life. Honestly, I don't even remember her name, and I know I will never see her again, but I'd like to. I hope that she and her husband have had a long happy life together. Marriages should be that way.

Now, flash forward to 1978 and a friend named Fred. He was without a doubt one of the most intelligent people I have ever met and was generous to a fault. It didn't matter who needed what, if Fred had it, it was theirs. He was also fragile in a way and eventually had to leave the military behind and move back to the North Carolina mountains. I'll probably never see him again either, but for almost 2 years he was the best friend I had.

One last stop. Monterey, California in 1981, and a friend named Robin who was there when things went a little sour for me and put up with my almost constant babbling about this or that. He listened without complaint or comment and let me convince myself to keep on keeping on. I will never see him again either, although I've been scouring the internet for any sign I can find of him or Fred. Nothing yet but I'll keep looking.

The point to all this is I hate misplacing friends or acquaintances and I want to leave that to the absolute minimum. That includes high school friends too. There are too many already gone, who I will never see again, and I don't want to add anyone else to that list. Please be there next summer for the 40th. All of you.

The Passing of an Icon

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Miss Mize the other day. According to my copy of Webster, "a cultural icon can be (among other things) a name or person that is readily recognized, and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group. "

I don't know how wide that group has to be in order to qualify, but to the group that went to Loudon High School for the many years Miss Mize was there, she definitely helped define a portion of their high school experience and in my mind qualifies as an icon.

She and I had our differences. She was there to teach me whether I was there to learn or not, and she never altered course. I had to admit at the end of the school year I had developed more than a little respect for her.

She was a very nice lady and holds a well deserved spot in my high school memories.

Letters to Santa

I heard a little girl say something the other day about writing a letter to Santa and I immediately thought of the letters the little ones used to write to Santa and the Herald would publish them. Do they still do that? Probably not, but I hope they do. If I remember right I think I also got a copy of the Herald after I joined the Air Force that had the letters in it. They were printed with red ink and they came from most of the grade schools in the county.

I remember reading them as a teenager. Everybody in the family passed those pages around, trying to find letters from little ones we might know, or simply just to read them. It was one of the things that put me in the spirit because some would ask for the usual popular toy but there was always one or two that would tug at your heart strings when they asked for something for someone else who might be sick or might not be getting much for Christmas. It's funny how sometimes the heart of a child can capture the meaning of Christmas and express it so much better than a grown up can. Maybe that's what believing in Santa Claus does --- it makes you more caring.

I know a lot of adults who could use a shot of that.

Kick Starting a Memory

I stopped in Loudon for a few hours over the holidays. We were coming back from South Carolina after spending Thanksgiving with our oldest son and daughter and their families. It was a hoot and I loved every minute of it. Anyway, my sister gave me this picture from when we were kids. The funny thing is she is my younger sister and she's not even in the picture, but she had a copy and I didn't.

Anyway, what struck me after seeing it was the other memories it brought flooding back, from that old barn behind us, to the house we lived in across the street and the neighbors we had and played with, all from that one picture.

Then a few days ago Donna posted wedding pictures of her and Rick on Facebook (pssst.. it's their anniversary) and the first thing that jumped out at me was, "Hey, that's how I remember them!" There was one picture of Donna, Pat Milsaps, Nelda Scott Queener and Donna's sister Elizabeth, and wow, I knew every one of them.

Also not too long ago Brenda posted some pictures on Facebook of her and Bruce through the years and it was fun watching the age progression, but it was also fun to realize that you went through the same changes.

Both sets of pictures looked so familiar and made me smile since it made other memories came rushing back. I actually felt happy looking at them.

So, if I may, I would like everyone to go dig out an old picture. It doesn't have to be of our time in high school, but just from back in your past somewhere and look at it --- really look at it --- and let the memories come fill your mind.

Oh, and let me know how it turns out.

A Look Back - December 1969

Dec 1 -- The first draft lottery since 1942 was held. I felt it's painful touch a few months later.
Dec 15 -- Nixon announces the third round of Vietnam troop withdrawals. (Just between you and me... how did this jive with the Dec. 1st entry??)
Dec 19 -- U.S. calls for cubes on trade with China.
Dec 20 -- Egyptian president Nasser names Anwar Sedat vice president.
Dec 21 -- Montreal: U.S. draft evaders gather for a holiday dinner.
Dec 22 -- Belfast: Bernadette Devlin sentenced to 6 months in jail for her part in the August riots.
Dec 31 -- Congo-Brazzaville declares itself a people's republic.

1969 Literature -- "Portnoy's Compaint" by Philip Roth, "The French Lieutenant's Woman" by John Fowles, "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo, and "Slaughterhouse Five", by Kurt Vonnegut.

1969 Music -- Musicals 1776 and Hair, "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells, "Everyday People", by Sly and the Family Stone, "Leaving on a Jet Plane", by Peter, Paul and Mary, and "Come Together" by the Beatles.

1969 Movies -- "Easy Rider" with Dennis Hopper, "Bullitt" with Steve McQueen, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, "They Shoot Horses Don't They" with Jane Fonda and "Midnight Cowboy" with Dustin Hoffman and John Voight

The First Cut

According to Rod Stewart, the first cut is the deepest. We all know he was talking about romance, but it could apply to other things as well, and we've all had our share of firsts.

Obviously there was the first time we really used the word love in connection with someone who was not a dear friend or family member, and meant it, or the first time we got dumped or got our heart broke. Or it could be just the first time we ventured in that direction, coming out of our shells enough and working up enough courage to actually let someone know we felt something. Those times are the obvious ones.

The others were just as painful in their own way, they just weren't used as the subject matter for rock and roll songs. There was the first time we went out for a sport and didn't make it. Or the first time we tried to join a group and discovered we didn't quite fit in. For some of us we might have wanted attention or recognition for something we did or could do, but we went unnoticed.

We have all decided just what memories we want to carry with us, the ones that are strongest. I think most of the time we choose the happy ones and we strive to hold those closest, but the others are there too. Always. Every now and then we can't help but pull the scab off them and when we do, they can be just as painful as they were back then.

I can't speak for anyone else. I have my share of the scars, both the kind that came along with the times and, for lack of a better term, those due to my social class. but I choose the happy ones and I hope that some of our friends are not staying in touch with us because they remember more of the painful ones. If that is true, I offer them both my hand and an ear. I will support them and even though I can't change anything, I think I'm a good listener and I can give a pat on the back when I think one is needed. All they have to do is let me know.

Nope, I Haven't Quit

Nope, I haven't given up. I just needed a grandbaby fix, so we spent Thanksgiving with 6 of them, and man was it fun. I had a great time. It takes a few minutes to get past the shy that's built up since the last time we saw them, but Papa Doug knows how to get them laughing and playing again before long.

But anyway, I'm back and will updating this site as fast as I can. :)

Winter

They put the snow stakes up at work this week. They're bright orange sticks about 3 feet high and as big around as your finger. They are to show folks where the sidewalks and curbs are when the snow comes. Hopefully it won't be above the stakes. The wind has changed too. It favors the north and even though the temperature is 44, the wind gives it a noticeable chill and along with the rain it goes clear to the bone.

But it's not quite as cold as it used to feel when I was a kid and the only heat in the house was a pot bellied stove. You came out from under the covers at a dead run and dressed by the fire, sometimes standing so close to it your pants felt like they were on fire, or you could go to the kitchen and eat hot biscuits and while you stayed warm next to the oven.

Later on, when we had a furnace all they really did was put the stove under house and the heat shot up through the grate in the floor When it was cold enough you almost stood on that grate. I melted that pattern into the soles of more than one pair of shoes.

Now, the heat is in every room and the fireplace is mostly for show. The air is even warm when you step out of the shower, which makes my bones feel better, but sometimes I miss that old stove. It was things like that stove or those biscuits that helped families stay closer together. Something else to look back on with fond memories and smiles.

Those really were the days.

Loudon Goes Psychedelic

In 1968 I bought Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf on a 45. I don't even remember what was on the flipside, but I liked that song so much that just knew I'd like the whole album; and I did. Looking back though, I'm not sure I was ready for everything it had on it. I know my Grandma wasn't. She called it "that racket", which at the time I found funny coming from someone who liked Bluegrass music. Anyway, the one song that made her draw the line was the one I've posted as a memory this week. "I will not have that in my house!" Yep, that's pretty much drawing the line to me.

Anyway, it's the live version of "The Pusher", and if you've never heard it before, I don't want to bruise your sensitivities, but just listen until you get to the chorus and you'll find out what got her so stirred up.

Daydreams

Was I the only one in our class with a Walter Mitty side? I could sit for long periods of time doing nothing but daydreaming. I rarely dreamed about something I might be able to do if I really wanted to try, like play football or basketball, --- I probably wouldn't have made the team, but I could have still tried. Instead, what I daydreamed about was always something I couldn't do. Like get a brand new car, or get a job that payed more than chicken scratches -- maybe even all the way up to 2 or 3 bucks an hour! Or date this girl or that one, you know, the popular ones or the ones above my social standings.

I envied others for what they had, but I seriously don't believe I coveted what they had. Not in a biblical sense anyway. If I saw a nice car I didn't want to take it away from whoever owned it, I just wanted one like it. Sometimes I'd see that particular girl with the guy she was dating and think something like, "He's a dork! What does he have that I don't?" Well, her for one thing.

Sometimes a teacher would say something like, "Mr. Presley do you want to get your mind back inside the window", and I'd realize I had daydreamed for half of class period about being in a rock and roll band or something.

I guess it all boils down to wanting to be in the spotlight, and now I hate the spotlight. I'm happiest sitting back in the corner letting everyone else take their turn. I no longer want the spotlight, but I sure would love to have a cherry red 1967 Mustang convertible, with black interior and 3 on the tree!!

Growing Old Is Mandatory, Growing Up Is Optional

Why is there such a difference between us when we were young and where we are now? I know all the reasons, but at the same time I don't understand why the difference is so great... sometimes as much as night and day.

Sometimes I will worry about money from paycheck to paycheck, back then I didn't worry at all. If I had it, I had it, if I didn't, I found something to do that didn't cost money.

Now when I think about taking a trip to Loudon or to South Carolina or Alabama to see the kids and grandkids I fret over the van. Will it make it? Does it need an oil change. How are the tires? Back then it was almost "Who cares, let's go!" As long as you could throw your money together and get a couple of bucks for gas, the rest of it was easy.

Now I hate being around crowds and will steer clear of some events because I don't like being around so many people. Back then that didn't matter. The more the merrier.

Sometimes now I worry about what others might think, after all, I'm still raising kids and I have to be an example of sorts. Back then it didn't matter. More than once I told someone to kiss where the sun don't shine.

As I get older I'm actually starting to worry less about some of that stuff. At times I will walk down the street with Sarah, singing at the top of my lungs. It's mainly to embarrass her. :) Who cares who looks. They won't see anything other than a man having fun with his daughter --- a daughter who happens to be growing up way too fast.

I have a shirt Sue bought me that says, "Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional." That's my new mantra.

A Look Back at November 1969

What had us sitting on the edge of seats back then? Or what had us laughing or crying? Let's take a look.

3rd -- New York City's population is set at 7,964,200
4th -- John Lindsay is relected mayor of New York
5th -- Black Panther leader Bobby Seale was given 4 years for contempt of court during the Chicago Seven trial
7th -- Israel allows TV broadcasts on the Sabbath for the first time.
8th -- North Vietnamese troups strike deep into the Mekong Delta
14th -- Apollo 12 is launched
16th -- South Vietnamese villagers claim American GIs killed 567 unarmed civilians at My Lai
17th -- US and USSR hold SALT talks in Helsinki
19th -- Apollo 12 astronauts walk on the moon
19th -- US sergeant says he witnessed the massacre at My Lai
20th -- Henry Cabot Lodge resigns as US delegate to the Paris peace talks
21st -- First British satellite is launched from Cape Kennedy
23rd -- US steps up bombing raids over Laos
24th -- US orders murder charges against Lt William Calley as a result of the My Lai massacre
24th -- US and USSR sign nuclear non-proliferation treaty
25th -- John Lennon returns the Order of the British Empire award to protest UK support of the Vietnam war
25th -- President Nixon orders the destruction of germ warfare weapon stockpile
27th -- The Rolling Stones play at Madison Square Garden

One Hit Wonders

I assume everyone knows what a one hit wonder is, I know Tony does. I thought it might bring back a few buried memories if I listed the one hit wonders from our high school years and only from our high school years, in chronological order, from day one to day... well.. whatever it was. This isn't my list. I "borrowed" it from Wikipedia, and there are one or two I would disagree with, but by strict definition, if one song was a monster hit, then even if there were other minor hits it doesn't count. So without further ado....

Psychotic Reaction -- Count Five
Winchester Cathedral -- The New Vaudeville Band
Music to Watch Girls By -- Bob Crewe Generation
It Takes Two -- Kim Weston
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye -- The Casinos
Friday On My Mind -- The Easybeats
Come On Down to My Boat -- Every Mother's Son
Little Ole Man (Uptight–Everything's Alright) -- Bill Cosby
Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) -- The Hombres
Next Plane To London -- The Rose Garden
Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) -- John Fred and His Playboy Band
Green Tambourine -- The Lemon Pipers
Nobody But Me -- The Human Beinz
Love Is Blue -- Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me -- Madeline Bell
Skip a Rope -- Henson Cargill
Born Free -- The Hesitations
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly -- Hugo Montenegro
Master Jack -- Four Jacks and a Jill
MacArthur Park -- Richard Harris
Reach Out of the Darkness -- Friend and Lover
The Horse -- Cliff Nobles and Co.
Angel of the Morning -- Merrilee Rush
Tip Toe Thru' The Tulips With Me -- Tiny Tim
Grazing in the Grass -- Hugh Masekela
Classical Gas -- Mason Williams
Journey to the Center of the Mind -- The Amboy Dukes
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida -- Iron Butterfly
Harper Valley PTA -- Jeannie C. Riley
Girl Watcher -- The O'Kaysions
Fire -- Crazy World of Arthur Brown
All Along the Watchtower -- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
I Got a Line On You -- Spirit
Worst That Could Happen -- Brooklyn Bridge
Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' -- Crazy Elephant
Love (Can Make You Happy) -- Mercy
Morning Girl -- The Neon Philharmonic
More Today Than Yesterday -- Spiral Starecase
Israelites -- Desmond Dekker and the Aces
Black Pearl -- Checkmates, LTD.
Medicine Man -- Buchanan Brothers
In the Year 2525 -- Zager and Evans
Color Him Father -- Winstons
My Pledge of Love -- Jeffrey Group
Yesterday, When I Was Young -- Roy Clark
Salad Annie --Tony Joe White
Sugar On Sunday -- Clique
Get Together -- The Youngbloods
Baby It's You -- Smith
Smile a Little Smile For Me Rosemarie -- The Flying Machine
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye -- Steam
Evil Woman -- Crow
Venus -- Shocking Blue
One Tin Soldier -- Original Caste
Hey There Lonely Girl -- Eddie Holman
Ma Belle Amie -- Tee Set
The Rapper -- The Jaggerz
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) -- Edison Lighthouse
Mississippi Queen -- Mountain
Long Lonesome Highway -- Michael Parks
Reflections of My Life -- Marmalade
Mississippi -- John Phillips
Vehicle -- The Ides of March

What's Wrong with Basketball?

I'm a little frustrated. I've tried for a week to find anything about the 69-70 basketball team and cannot --- neither the boys or girls team. I'm not trying to downplay the accomplishments of the football team at all, heck you don't win a state championship every year, but you would think I'd be able to find a won-loss record or something like that somewhere on the internet, but not so far.

I did find this when I was looking:

Most Points in a Half - Team
158 Loudon vs. McMinn County February 14, 1956

Most Points in a Quarter - Team
94 Loudon vs. McMinn County February 14, 1956

Most Points in One Game - Team
197 Loudon vs. McMinn County February 14, 1956

Most Points Scored in a Quarter - Individual
46 Reed Stamey Loudon February 14, 1956

But heck, we hadn't even made the first grade when that happened.

Does anyone know at least the won-loss record? I would like to post something about the teams, championships or not.

The River

The other day I got to thinking about the Tennessee River and how it affects Loudon. We all, in one way or another, have used it or dealt with it in some way or another. It doesn't flood like it used to but I'm sure it doesn't take a very big increase in water to back up the creeks feeding into it; so even if you lived away from it, sometimes it came visiting. Several times it rearranged the left field boundary of the baseball field, if it didn't put the whole field under water.

When I was a kid I lost 3 friends to the river. One behind the hosiery mill, one where Ferry Street runs into the river and one behind what would now be the Senior Center. The first place I remember living is with my grandparents there were Ferry Street meets the river, just below the old Chair Factory. I learned to swim right off the bank and there used to be one heck of a drop off there at the mouth of Steekee Creek.

I remember when the lake there used to be lined with houseboats, and when the Coast Guard used to dock there (and more than once they ate their fill of my Grandma's fried chicken). On weekends a lot of people went fishing there off the bank or out in a boat. Mrs. Ross (my 1st grade teacher) and her family, among others, had a motor boat they brought down a lot, and it wasn't unusual to see someone waterskiing down under the bridge.

I was also baptized in the river there at Ferry Street, as were hundreds of others.

Whether it was in town, somewhere along Steekee Creek or down where the little river came in there at Davis Ferry, the river had a major effect on the town and on each one of us.

That Championship Season

Record: 11-0-1
LHS 20 Alcoa 7
LHS 27 Clinton 0
LHS 35 Lenoir City 6
LHS 56 Everette 6
LHS 25 McMinn Central 0
LHS 20 Cleveland 0
LHS 9 Maryville 6
LHS 7 Kingston 7
LHS 45 Rockwood 6
LHS 28 Sevierville 0
Playoffs
LHS 28 Knox South 0
LHS 30 Humbolt 0
Points Loudon 330 Opponent 38
Average Loudon 27.5 Opponent 3.1

No matter how you look at it, that was one helluva season.
Except for a tie to Kingston it would have been perfect.
Six of the 12 opponents were shut out.
Loudon outscored them almost 10 to 1.
Opponents averaged just 3 points a game.
If you take out the two close games, Loudon outscored them by an average score of 31-2.
In ten of the 12 games Loudon scored 20+ points.
Loudon didn’t allow a score at all in the last 3 games, two of which were playoff games.

What got me thinking about this was last Friday night. I to the Loudon football game on the internet. I didn’t know until game time that it was homecoming and I was very surprised when they paid tribute to the 69 team. Our team. That team at the top of this post.

The lady called out the names of the members of the team who were present and I found myself initially remembering them as they were, but then trying to figure out how they had changed over the years. There weren’t many there, but the seniors she called out were Dickie Blankenship, Gordo Watson, Wayne Poole, Buddy Guider, Bo Carey, Mike Littleton and Mike Skinner (I hope I remembered them all).

It would have been fun be there to see them again. I haven’t seen Mike Skinner and Wayne Poole in 25 years, or at least 20, and I haven’t seen the others much more than that.

Great memory guys!

Our Year in Review

The world changed a lot during our time at Loudon High. I believe that we are able to get through this crazy world today because we cut our teeth on daily body counts, riots, protests, assassinations, and literally "out of this world" headlines from the moon, that sometimes the things that happen today are a walk in the park. I think to try to encapsulate it all would be a huge undertaking, but I am going to try and bring to mind some of the big headlines from our senior year.

First, we'll look back at September 1969, the first month of Senior year.

-- 4th Ho Chi Minh dies.
-- 6th The US formally recognizes Libya.
-- 9th An Israeli task force crossed the Gulf of Suez into Egypt.
-- 12th Nixon orders the resumption of the bombing of North Vietnam
-- 16th Nixon orders the withdrawal of 35,000 troops from Vietnam
-- 19th Nixon cuts the draft call-up by 50,000.
-- 20th The US tennis team retains the Davis Cup.
-- 21st Harvard opened a program of black studies.

Then, to get us back on track, here is October, 1969.

-- 1st The Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time.
-- 9th The National Guard are called up in Chicago to quell student riots.
-- 10th The New York Mets win the World Series.
-- 11th The heads of 79 colleges ask Nixon to speed up the withdrawal from Vietnam.
-- 13th Nixon vows not to be swayed by anti-war protests
-- 15th Congress votes to mint a new $1 coin to honor Eisenhower.
-- 18th Cyclamates are banned as a sweetner.
-- 21st Jack Kerouac dies.
-- 21st A spokesman for the Beatles says rumors of Paul’s death are “rubbish”, but fans everywhere still look for cryptic signs in songs and on album covers. (We got that carried away. Imagine how we would have been if we had the internet!)
-- 23rd Laboratory tests show that large quantities of monosodium glutamate produces brain damage in mice.
-- 23rd Cartier of New York pays a record $1.05 million for a diamond.
-- 25th 300 are dead as the PLO invades Lebanon.
-- 29th U. S. Supreme Court orders desegregation at once, superseding a previous “with all deliberate speed” ruling.

Never a Dull Moment

According to Mr. Newton, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”; so since last week I covered the gentle souls, this week I’m turning that coin over. The people listed below never let a place get dull. They always seemed to be in a very good mood and wanted everyone else to join in. They had the ability to makes us laugh loud and often.

Doug Adkins
Jennie Bright
Mike Delaney
Darlene Green
Eugene Henley
Barney Herrell
Jean Julian
Steve Knox
Mike Littleton
Pat Lowe
Allen McNabb
Donna Morgan
Becky Poole
Wayne Poole
Sylvia Robinson
Edward Watson
Tony Woody

Kind and Gentle Souls

I have always been a little rambunctious. I have my quiet moments, sometimes when everybody else is wired, but that doesn't happen too long or too often. Like my uncle used to say, if I kept quiet for 5 minutes the seat of my britches would blow out. :)

Anyway, I think everyone is that way. If they are loud and jovial, they are sometimes quiet, and if they are quiet and shy, they can sometimes be just the opposite. I think it's about 80% to 90% the dominant way and 10% to 20% the other way.

I also noticed that if I'm around one of the quiet ones, I'm quiet and little more than usual and they're more boisterous than usual. But I did enjoy being around the quiet ones, and if those of us who are loud can be called rough and rowdy, then the opposite in my view is kind and gentle.

I bet if you thought for a minute you could think of both types of people. Here are my kind and gentle souls.

Jimmy Barr
Janie Barrier
Bonnie Bivens
Kaye Collis
Joe Evans
Larry Faulkner
Kathey Guider
Peggy Hamilton
Beverly McCollough
Brenda McKee
Wayne McNabb
Rhonda Montooth
Brenda Nicholson
Gary Poe
Joe Russell
Carl Schrimpscher
Mike Stafford
Mary Thompson
Joe Watson

Like I said, maybe they weren't all the time, but they were around me.

AM Rock

I've probably already written most of this before but over on Facebook Tony and Daryl have gotten me going again and the memories just keep coming back. I've been listening to satellite radio for the past 6 or 7 years, partly because I hate DJs but mostly because I don't have to put up with the commercials. Anyway, they have entire channels dedicated to the music we listened to in high school and as much as I enjoy it I sometimes really miss the old AM radio stations we listened to.

I know, there was a lot of popping and crackling and static and fading in and out, but I do miss it. And even with all that bad stuff, you could tune them down to a hair's breadth and pull in almost any station you wanted to.

Early in the evening it was WNOX, but as it got later there was a ton of stations you could pull in, from WSM in Nashville to WLS in Chicago to KDKA in Pittsburgh. Baseball games from Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore and Atlanta after the Braves moved there.

Sure we had FM, we just didn't use it, or, at least not until I found the underground station from UT, or was it Maryville College? FM was the music they played in the doctor's office --- easy listening or MOR, (Middle of the Road, remember that term?)

Anyway, the Monkees, Beatles, Stones, Byrds, Who, 3 Dog Night-- and all others sounded so much better in a way when you had to strain just a little bit more to hear the words.

You Really Can't Go Back

Last week my son Christopher came home from college for the first time and couldn’t wait to get back to his old high school. He had only been away from town for 3 weeks, but he was more than a little excited to look the old place over; the center of his social life for the past 4 years. His senior class was about as big as ours, but he was far more popular than I was. Everybody knew and liked Christopher.

I went down to Louisville to pick him up and we no sooner got home than he was in his car and gone. Later that night I saw him at the football game. His shoulders were a little slouched and a lot of the excitement was gone. He wasn’t upset or depressed, just a little low. He saw how quickly things change, how one group moves on and another group takes their place. There were a lot of people who shook his hand and patted him on the back, kids and grownups alike, but it wasn’t the same. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it never would be.

I remember when I got home from basic training. I couldn’t wait to catch up on everything and everybody. Heck, I’d only been gone 6 weeks. It wasn’t the same. All the people I knew were gone or working or married and had started making lives of their own; lives that didn’t include me.

One day I went to the school, in uniform of course, and it was a completely different world, one that I was no longer part of. The only thing that made it bearable was running into Jimmy Littlefield who was there doing the same thing.

Adjusting My Sights

It occurred to me recently that over the years, as I’ve gone back to Loudon, I have unconsciously adjusted the age group of the people I look at when trying to find someone I know. I guess that’s natural, but it happened without me being overly aware of it.

I went from looking at 20-somethings to 40-somethings and now to almost 60-somethings. Before, if I looked at an older person I would wonder if I knew their son or daughter, now when I look at someone younger I wonder if I know they parents or grandparents.

I rue the day I am talking with someone and I mention one of you and they say, “Oh, you mean my great grandma(grandpa)!”

Some Things I Don’t Remember. Do You?

How much did lunch cost?

How many classes were in a day? 5? 6?

How much were yearbooks?

How much was the class ring?

How much did it cost to get into a football game? A basketball game?

What time was the first bell?

How much time was between classes? 5 minutes? 10 minutes?

Which buses dropped off in the back of the school? Which ones in front?

What was the name of our Senior play?

Did we have a guest speaker at graduation? Who?

Age is the Great Equalizer

Just about this time 40 years ago, we were starting senior year. Up until senior year, we all had our little groups – the jocks, the smokers, the brains, the band players, and the folks from Piney or from Steekee or from Philadelphia or wherever in the county they came from. Sometimes the groups intermingled and sometimes they didn’t, but as senior year progressed, it seemed like the little groups lost some of their pull and we slowly melded into one larger group --- a group that would end the year with what would be, up until that time, the biggest event of our lives.

On that first day of senior year, some of us already knew they would attend this or that college or take their place in the family business or the family farm. Others had big career dreams while others thought of nothing more that settling down right there in our hometown. Also, most of the guys had to deal with the draft in one way or another before they could set their sights on anything at all.

Finally, we were all converging on that one special event, and over the course of the year, it seemed to draw us closer together. We were beginning to realize that in a very few short months we would no longer be around some of the friends that, in some cases, we had seen every school day for 12 years.

Now, these many years later, we have reached a spot where we are beginning to have more in common than at no other time since that magical year. We each took a separate path to get to where we are; but the paths that split back then are, in some ways, starting to converge once again. We had our youth and freshness in common then and now it’s our maturity.

We used to tell each other our dreams and schemes and now we can share some of the many joys and a few of the scars from the lives we’ve lived. We all started out with high hopes and goals and with a bit of luck we accomplished most of them, and there are some we may still be working on, and others yet that we’ve had to bury. We’ve all had the joys and sorrows, the laughter and tears, and the achievements and the scars that come from living.

Sometimes however, I think our biggest fear is that as we look in the mirror at the grey hair and wrinkles – the face that looks more and more like our parents – in the back of our minds we somehow think that everyone else has escaped the process of time; that when we walk into that room at the reunion we will be looking at those same fresh faces we remember from so long ago. And honestly, I also think that as much as we are afraid we’ll see those faces, at the same time there‘s a part of us that is afraid we won’t.

After all, we are here, 40 years later, and and big part of us accepts that, but part of us never will.

I Found These and Thought They Fit

It was my class reunion, and all through the house,
I checked in each mirror and begged my poor spouse
To say I looked great, that my chin wasn't double,
And he lied through false teeth, just to stay out of trouble.
Said that 'neath my thick glasses, my eyes hadn't changed,
And I had the same figure, it was just a mite rearranged.
He said my skin was still silky, although looser in drape,
Not so much like smooth satin, but more like silk crepe.
I swallowed his words hook, sinker and line
And entered the banquet feeling just fine.
Somehow I'd expected my classmates to stay
As young as they were on that long-ago day
We'd hugged farewell hugs. But like me, through the years,
They'd added gray to their hair, or pounds to their rears.
But as we shared a few memories and retold some class jokes,
We were eighteen in spirit, though we looked like our folks.
We turned up hearing aid volumes and dimmed down the light,
Rolled back the years, and were young for the night.

(Elizabeth Lucas)

And this one says it all....

Every ten years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail,
"A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail.

I'll never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.

No one had heard about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed "most apt to succeed"
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted "least" now was a priest;
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs.

At our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot.

It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores;
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.
Then most of us lay around in the shade,
In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.

By the fortieth year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait; they've set the date;
Our fiftieth is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party;
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun; I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.

Another Look Down

When you were a kid the world ended at the next turn or hill. All you knew was the world you could see. Loudon seemed so large back then. Other people called it small but when it's the only world you knew, it wasn't all that small. There were places to go to get away if you wanted a little time alone by yourself or that certain someone. Now look at it: (you can click on it to make it bigger)



It fits on one page. From about the high school near the lower left to about the drive in on the upper right. One page.

The river didn't seem to meander as much as it really does, did it? And all those times I walked along Steekee Road, it never occurred to me that just the other side of that ridge line was Robinson Road. I never put two and two together.

Here's another way of looking at it:



The bumpy view. Hospital Hill really does dominate the area doesn't it. And Fort Hill, where the old high school was is prominate on the other side of town. That depression just to the southwest of Fort Hill that leads down to the river is real, I can attest to that. It was steep enough that if you jumped the fence behind the old Junior High School you could be down to the river before anyone noticed you were gone.

Sometimes I really miss that small world.

Reunion Memories

What are some of your favorite reunion memories?

My top favorite was the 20th, and I've heard several people say the same thing. The setting was good, the crowd was super, and it was a great time. Everyone seemed to be into it and genuinely happy to see each other. There were no comparisons of jobs or houses or cars or stock portfolios. None of that kind of stuff. Just a group of people enjoying themselves and having a great time being together.

The night before the 10th (I think) at Gordo's house. It started at the pool beside the school and ended up at Gordo's. Okay, so a bunch of us got sh*t-faced, it was still a good time. Everybody was loose and relaxed.

The class only breakfast before which, the 25th? Looking over the school together and remembering so much. I was surprised at the things people remembered, things I had long forgotten or didn't even know about.

Will the 49th be a good memory? I sure hope so. Okay, so maybe I'm having a flash back or something but I would like to see everybody there. Wouldn't that be a hoot? I think so.

It Is Time to Begin

August is a few days away and it seems to me that if we are going to have a 40th reunion, we are within a year of it. I will be honest and say that I had hoped that by now this site would have a few more semi-regulars so we could work together to make it happen. I realize that not everyone can get to this site but I am still willing to do whatever I can. To that end I have created a group on Facebook for our class --- you regular Facebook users should have gotten an invitation. There are a few more of us there and it's a lot more visible. It's a stretch but I personally would like to see everyone show up. I know it's a stretch and most likely will not happen but I fully believe in the more the merrier. I see the group as being a place where more of us can work together to make this happen. Please, please give it your attention.

Obviously there will be more on this as we go. Thanks guys for helping out!!

A Tear

In high school, and for a time afterward I was macho, or at least I thought I was. Nothing could make me cry --- not a busted heart from a girl or s busted arm from an accident or a busted nose from a fight. I came close a time or two, like when I found myself in boot camp, far away from home and feeling so alone, but I was bound and determined that no one would ever see me break down, and that pledge lasted right up until my oldest son was born.

Now I can tear up at the drop of a hat, or a skinned knee. I got trained early on from my kids and its been reinforced all over again by my grand kids. I don't exactly blubber, but those little arms hugging my neck or the look on their face when I drop them off for the first day of first grade --- that "I'm a big boy now Dad, I can do this" look, and I just can't help getting misty eyed.

There have been other times too, obviously. Like when my Grandma passed and then again when Mom passed. Standing up there on that cold lonely hill looking at that fresh mound of dirt while someone sings 'Amazing Grace' will do that to you, or it does me. That particular song always brings a tear to my eye.

Then there's been the occasional beer tear. That old saying about taking the boy out of the country applies to me in spades. At times I still turn the radio dial to the nearest country station, especially if it plays the old stuff; the stuff we didn't always own up to listening to in high school. Sometimes on a far off military base I would go in the club and drop a few quarters in the jukebox and listen to a song that would take me back to Loudon and you folks.

It's 1977. The wind is blowing so hard outside that nobody is allowed to go out. The snow is piling up in drifts that partially bury some of the single story buildings. Everything that is familiar seems light years away. You sip your beer slowly as one of your selections start to play and almost everyone in the place gets a little bit quiet as Mel Street takes each of us back to wherever our homes are.

Smokey Mountain Memories is this week's oldie.

The Porn Movie That Wasn't

The year was 1969 and an X rated movie was actually coming to Cole's Drive In. Several of us decided to sneak in and see it. It was Midnight Cowboy. It turned out to be a dud of an X rated movie, but excellent as just a plain ol' movie, and remains one of my all time favorites. Plus it won Best Picture that year. The trailer for it is this week's oldie. Enjoy.

Digging Up Bones

When I first started posting here I was a bit surprised by how much I remembered. I seemed to be able to recall a lot of things. The funny part of it is however, that I hardly remember anything.

If the four years we spent in high school was a plot of land I was trying to excavate, the more I dug and sifted thru the layers of sand, silt and cobwebs that have covered it up over the years, the more I realized I remember very little.

The memories I recalled turned out to be isolated little peaks in an otherwise vast emptiness. The gap from one memory to the next is a large unfamiliar void that contains no memories at all.

Of course I remember the highlights -- or most of them. Heck, we all do. But I sometimes have trouble recalling things that were an everyday occurrence. For example, I remember Norma Wallace sat to my left in freshman English and to my right was the wall -- but I can’t tell you who sat in front of, or behind, me. You figure I spent a year looking at the back of someone’s head, and I can’t remember who it was. Some memory huh?

I can see faces so clearly but I can’t always put names to them. Thankfully, I at least have a couple of yearbooks or I would be totally lost, because the two I don’t have are crippling enough.

I’ve stated before that I worked right after school, so to a degree that limited my extracurricular activities and the chance to interact with more people and do more things, but that’s really a cop out. I doubt I would have participated in much of the extra stuff anyway. Besides, there are guys I worked with every afternoon the entire senior year and I don’t remember their names.

That was one of the things that made dinner with the ladies a couple of months ago so fun. They remembered things I didn’t and it helped me uncover a few more things I had missed in my excavation.

Thanks ladies!

Loudonese II

Somewhere I read that the dialect spoken most often in Tennessee is a "middling" dialect, not northern and not really southern -- or at least not the deep south. There are differences in Tennessee too. The folks around Memphis use words or phrases just a bit different than the folks in east Tennessee. Just ask Kay. :) So in keeping with that I'm going to add a little bit to a previous post about words I heard or used around Loudon when I was growing up.

Ever hear someone call an ear of corn a roastin’ ear, or call a cantaloupe a mush or musk melon?

When you’re talking about the nut, is it a p-can or a p-con? Personally I was always told it was a p-con since a p-can was something that used to be kept under the bed.

Do you say to-may-to or tu-ma-to? How ‘bout just plain ol’ t’may-ta?

Do you say po-tay-to or pa-ta-to? How ‘bout just plain ol’ tay-ta? Honestly I have no problem saying po-tay-to if I’m asking for baked or mashed potatoes, but if it’s sliced and fried up with some onion, that’s a tater. There's no two ways about it.

Ever hear someone call a white bean a navy bean, or a green bean a pole bean?

Ever hear someone refer to the police as “the law”, or refer to something over there as being over yonder?

Sometimes I miss folks who talk the way I do... or sometimes do. :)

Our Music

I’ve said several times how much I enjoyed the music we listened to, and I did. We just didn’t realize at the time how lucky we were. Not only did we come of age in a time of major social, political and technological changes, we also experienced a golden age of music.

From the time we could call ourselves teenagers, we saw the British Invasion led by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Who; the advent of the psychedelic and heavy metal rock of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin and Steppenwolf; and the rising of the mellow west coast rock of The Eagles, The Band and Jackson Browne, a down to earth, simple sound that was more country than most of the modern country of today.

I was never much of a Beatles fan, but even I could see the influence they had – influence that if possible, was even stronger than they’ve been given credit for. However, I was (and still am) a fan of the Stones and the Who; groups that to me were in some ways even ahead of the Beatles.

Over on the R&B side we said hello to Stevie Wonder and James Brown, and the Temptations showed over and over that they were so much more than just another R&B group.

In country, Johnny Cash enjoyed a strong resurgence after a relatively quiet period since he helped lay the roots of rock in the Sun Studios in Memphis, and we gave a big welcome to Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers and a young song writer named Kris Kristopherson, who over a 5 year period wrote some of the best sounding songs since Willie Nelson came to Nashville. Loretta Lynn didn’t hide her accent when she sang Coal Miner’s Daughter, Bobby Gentry sang about Billy Jo McAllister, Ray Price told us about the Good Times and Sammi Smith asked us to Help Me Make It Through The Night.

We didn’t forget there was a higher power either, with songs like Turn, Turn Turn by the Byrds, Get Together by the Youngbloods and Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum, and if you want to stretch it far enough, In A Godda Da Vida by Iron Butterfly too.

With all the war and riots going on we also had to have upbeat songs like People Got to Be Free by the Rascals, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother by the Hollies, Teach Your Children Well by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and even Everything Is Beautiful by Ray Stevens. And then Marvin Gaye showed the world that a protest song could be a first rate song with a quality all its own when he recorded What’s Going On.

And finally, another slice of American slang came along when The Zombies recorded Time of the Season and were the first (I could find) to utter that now famous line, “Who’s your Daddy?”

Music still turns my mind back to high school quicker than anything else. Now you know why.

The Roller Coaster

There are lots of metaphors used for the years we spent in high school -- the end of childhood.. becoming an adult.. the wonder years.. the fun years -- and the list goes on.

I tend to look at them as the "roller coaster years". Can you think of any other period in your life where you went from happy to sad, or from nirvana to deep, dark depression, and at times all in a matter of minutes?

And as bad as it got, when you thought you didn't want to do anything or be with anybody, within a day or so you were on your way back up, or, when you reached the top you were so emotionally high you felt like you were walking off the ground and nothing could burst your balloon, but eventually something did.

Then, to top all that, it didn't have to be a certain person, or situation, or group, or class, or anything else. Any one of them could be the catalyst or the suppressant.

What a wonderfully bittersweet time of life it was.

The Years Had Names

Have you ever wondered why the years in high school were named the way they were? I know, it's worthless information, but that's the kind of stuff that gnaws at me sometimes and sends me scurrying around the internet.

Obviously, freshman means someone in their first year, or fresh at what they're doing. Different parts of the world refer to them under different, usually derogatory nicknames like "fish", "fresher", "frosh", "newbie", "freshie", "snotter" or "fresh-meat". I'm sure glad nobody called me that name next to the last.

Sophomore in folklore terms means "wise fool", or comes from the Greek "sophos", meaning "wise", and "moros" meaning "foolish". And if you think about it that makes a little sense considering how we pushed out our chests and bosted we weren't freshman anymore.

Junior and senior are a little more obvious. Since senior is the last year, junior is the year under that since a junior comes after a senior, just like it does when someone is named after someone elss. In some parts of the country someone taking 5 years to graduate is called a "super senior". I'm not sure about you but that sounds a little too positive than the name I would use.

Family

As I said in the last post my son Christopher graduated last Friday. For 4 glorious days I was lucky enough to have all my kids and grandkids together for the first time in a very, very long time. I can't remember when I was so happy. I sometimes just sat and listened to my boys talking sports while my grandkids played games. Such a sweet noise that left the house sound so empty when they all had gone back to their homes.

It put my mind on family and when I last saw this brother or sister or cousin, and it also brought to mind you guys too. We were a family of a sort you know. If you look up family in your trusty Funk and Wagnel's, one of it's meanings is... "an association of people who share common beliefs or activities." That was us, right?

We had different parts of our family just like most families do. We had the kind aunt or uncle and the crazy brother who is always carrying on and joking around and the doting mother or father. We had parts of our family we were proud of and others that were a little embarrassing. Our family shared intimate secrets with us or boasted about us or even threatened to kick our butts if we didn't straighten up. We loved some of them a little more than others and even kept our distance from others, but they were still part of the family. I'll let you decide who fit those particular "roles" for you.

So our family, which was made up of a hundred and twenty something different parts, made it through that stage of our lives, and they should at least be able to get together from time to time, right?. I will tell you this much, the evening I spent recently with my "sisters", Donna, Brenda, Kathey, Sylvia and Pat, meant a lot to me and was a lot of fun. I can't wait for the next time.

Graduation

Tomorrow my youngest son Christopher graduates from high school and I have mixed feelings. I'm proud of him, and he will be starting college in August, so he's well on his way to making his mark. I'm also a little sad. He came along just as I was finishing up my Air Force career, and I probably bonded with him more than with any of the others. For months after I retired he and I did everything, and went everywhere, together. He made the transition into civilian life a lot easier for me.

This mixture of strong feelings made me realize what my folks must have been thinking when I graduated. It did not occur to me then that they were feeling anything. They didn't show it. Did your parents? Did we sell our folks short in that department? We knew it was going to be a major change for us, but did we ever consider it might be for them too? If your family was like mine they probably made jokes about it, but now I wonder if the jokes were meant to mask other feelings.

It amazes me that I can still gain a touch more respect for someone who has passed, but I have.

My Dream

Last night I dreamed about a bunch of you guys. Seriously. I read some place that things become dreams when they have, for whatever reason, taken over some spot in our subconscious. Well, last night a lot of you folks must have been on my mind, because we had a meeting at my office -- of all places -- to discuss next year's reunion and who could or could not attend.

Brenda, Kathey, Donna, Tony.. you were all there, as was Jake, Kay Collis, Debbie Huskey, Mike Russell, Doris and even Estes. We were all sitting at this humongous table talking about who would be there, what to serve and where it would be. Not surprisingly, we didn't come up with a decision. :)

Plus, every one of you folks looked just like you did back then, but I didn't. Not sure I want to delve into the meaning of that little tid bit.

I did decide on one thing tho. People tend to focus on big numbers for such things.... 10, 20, 25, 50. They've all become noteworthy anniversaries of one thing or another, and they should be, but it would be a mistake to focus on our 50th. Oh, we will when the time comes, but right now we should put every effort into this one. There are so many of us that have not been to a reunion in some time, if at all, and while I'm sure all the reasons for not being there are valid, I'm equally sure the list of our classmates who have passed along is getting far too long.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist, I'm just being realistic. As Tony said, each one that passes should be a reminder of our own mortality, so the odds are the longer we wait, the fewer of us who will be able to enjoy it and whose company we will miss.

In Rememberance - Estes Queener

The last time I saw Estes was at a reunion 10 or 15 years ago at the high school. He had not changed at all. He was still quiet with that little smile that made you think maybe he knew something you didn’t. Never upset or bouncing off the walls, he had the same quiet personality senior year that he had freshman year, and not too many of us can say that. We will all miss a good man and a good friend, and there’s not too many of either left in this world.

God's finger touched him, and he slept.
Alfred Lord Tennyson

I would be remiss here if I did not mention Nelda. It is one thing to lose a friend and classmate, but when that person is married to another friend and classmate it amplifies the sadness. Nelda, we all hurt with you and for you, our thoughts and prayers will always be there.

The Memorial List

This morning I got an email from Tony Woody, and one of the things he said was “….if you write a memorial for Estes please include all the classmates we have lost along the way … It serves as a reminder of our own mortality as we lose each friend. As we honor one, we should take the time to remember all we have lost.”

I agree. So here is a list that’s grown far too long, far too fast:

Lynn Barger
Bobby Jo Chumley
Mike Delaney
Doyle Goodson
Janie Green
Patty Hicks
Freddy Lindsey
Larry Lankford
Pat Lowe
Sherry McMahan
Allen McNabb
Wayne McNabb
Estes Queener
Kay Rucker
Betty Scott

Nothing Lasts Forever

Not even fountains. In keeping with the progress on the city beautification project, here is where the fountain was. They took out the spruce tree as well. I have not heard what they plan to do here other than "beautify" it. Call me an old fogey but I always liked the fountain and thought it was pretty enough. Maybe one of the ones close by can let us know what they plan to do here.

Ever Want To Be a Stripper?

Catchy title huh? I saw a story on CNN recently where a woman hired a stripper to take her place at her 10 year reunion. She did it as part of a film she was making because she wanted to get their reactions, plus she said she really didn't care for reunions anyway.

The thing is it worked to a point. People either thought it might be her or was afraid to say anything because they really weren't sure. However, I think her plans fell apart when the stripper started dancing. Apparently that was a little too much and everyone figured it was bogus.

Ever wanted to do something outlandish like that? Within your comfort level of course. To some degree I think it might work to break the ice. Ever notice that for the first few minutes of a reunion everyone isn't quite sure what to say to each other, especially if it's been awhile since they last saw one another? What better way to break the ice than to catch everyone off guard.

Maybe next year I'll parachute into the reunion. :)

Potpourri

I've had several things running through my mind the past few days but nothing that really seemed all that earth shaking. Donna put a post on Facebook about the fountain being taken out. Bummer that. Although I will admit to saying that without really knowing what their plans are, so maybe they will put in another one even bigger or something. But the old bridge was more or less lined up with the fountain, so coming into town it was the first thing you noticed, or at least it was for those of us who moved away. Now what will I notice first?

The last two polls has got me looking like the only hoodlum in our class. :) I left a word out of both questions. They were supposed to be did you "try" either smoking or drinking while in high school. I know the regulars to this blog didn't smoke, so I knew I'd be the only "Yes" vote there, but I figured everybody at least tried a beer or something during that time. I know we all "tried" enough of it the night before the ten year reunion!!!

I guess it's been pretty obvious that I look at my high school years from more of a social aspect --- and I've got the grades to prove it. :) But that being said, didn't we all look at it that way? I'm sure everyone hit the books harder than I did, but the main part of high school had to be social, especially when you throw in dating and things like that. Take for example that first big crush. Whether we dated them or not, I think everyone at one time or another had to be bitten by that bug. Some of us acted on it in our own way and I'm sure some did not. I had more than a little bit of wallflower in me when it came to things like that, but that didn't keep me from writing their name everywhere I could --- even once on the leg of my jeans during class. Maybe I thought nobody would notice. :) Where am I going with this? I have no idea. I guess it's just a guy nearing 60 trying to make heads or tails out of some things he did at 16, when in all honesty I didn't even have a clue what I was doing back then either.

Or maybe if I'd spent less time writing names on my jeans and more time writing school work I might have been a doctor or lawyer or rocket scientist now. Yeah... right!

Comments Are Fixed and Poking a Little Fun at Sylvia

The comments are fixed... dang little bugs. I forgot to check a box somewhere.

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I've known Sylvia Robinson most of my life, or at least my school life. We rarely moved in the same circles but she was always there at lunch or recess or whatever, and she was kinda sorta in the neighborhood like Bo and Gordo and Kerry Pulkenin used to be. They were just over the hill from where we lived. Later on, when we reached high school Sylvia had developed one of the sharpest, quickest wits I've ever seen and could verbally go toe to toe with anybody.

A year or two after graduation, when Dr. Hook recorded "Sylvia's Mother" it reminded me of the only Sylvia I had ever known, and to this day she's the first thing that pops in my mind whenever I hear the song.

It's this week's oldie.

Help

There hasn't been any comments on here since December, and that's okay because a large part of what I've posted hasn't really been comment material. But it does make me wonder if something might be mechanically wrong. Has anyone tried to post a comment and have not been able to? I assume if that were the case you would tell me, but I just want to make sure.

Sylvia's Chieftains

Sylvia Robinson had saved several Chieftains and loaned them to me to put on this site. There are 12 of them spaced out sparatically from September 1966 to March 1968. When I scanned them I used full color scan so the age would be fully appreciated. It's all there; the yellowed paper, the memeograph type, Sylvia's doodles and a few notes here and there, and a couple of the pages are faded, just like the memeograph machine was famous for.

Looking at them, I was struck by several things. Each one starts off with a devoational Bible scripture. You won't see that in a school publication anymore. Also, some of the stories are more than a little non-politcially correct, including some not so flattering things said here and there. You won't see that in a school publication anymore either. Lastly, they made me smile as I remember people I hadn't thought of in years.

They are posted along the right side of the blog.

Thanks for sharing Sylvia.

What is This?

Can anybody shed any light on this picture?? It is obviously in Loudon and it was at some point before the bridge was replaced, but the cars don't match the way the men are dressed and the buildings on each side of the picture do not match. The building on the left is older than the one on the right, which looks brand new.

Loudon Cuisine Part 2

First off, any one of you can probably make biscuits and gravy a lot better than I can, but I had to learn. A lot of places I’ve lived didn’t even offer it and you can’t always trust a restaurant to make it good enough. To me, Cracker Barrel’s gravy has no taste and Bob Evan’s looks burnt, so I do my own. Anyway, here it is.

To make the sausage gravy:
1 lb bulk or roll sausage, with a bit of fat in it. Nobody said it was healthy.
3 Tbsp oil or butter, if needed
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
Salt and pepper

Fry the sausage in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces, until fully cooked. (Maybe it’s just the image of my grandma making gravy, but it has to be a cast iron skillet.) I only use about half the sausage and either freeze the rest for the next batch or make omelets or my sausage eggs with them.

After the sausage has fried, use a slotted spoon to take it out of the skillet, leaving the drippings behind. You should have about 3 Tbsps of fat, if not add enough oil or butter to make up the difference.

Stir in the flour a little at a time until you have made a roux. If it is too dry, add a touch more oil/butter. Cook the roux for 2-3 minutes.

Add the milk a bit at a time, stirring until well mixed, adding more as it thickens. When all the milk is used, turn the heat down very low and cook, stirring frequently, for a couple of minutes until thickened. If it becomes too thick, add a bit of water.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Biscuits

2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
4 tablespoons butter or shortening, I prefer butter.
1/2 tsp. salt
About 3/4 cup buttermilk or regular milk, I prefer buttermilk

In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in shortening or butter. (From here on out I use my hands to make sure I get it all mixed together)

Add milk gradually, stirring until soft dough is formed.

Turn out on slightly floured board and lightly knead for a couple of minutes.30 seconds, enough to shape it.

Use a rolling pin to roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick and use a biscuit cutter or glass to cut individual biscuits. If desired, lightly brush some melted butter across the tops.

Bake on ungreased sheet in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Right here I have a confession to make. Most of the time I buy my biscuits from the store, especially if I’m feeling lazy, but also because Pillsbury has a very good frozen biscuit… not the ones in the cardboard can… but loose, premade biscuits in a bag in the freezer section. They’re not homemade, but they’re not far from it.

Another note. With the remainder of the sausage, if it’s small enough pieces, you can make sausage eggs. Not sausage and eggs, but sausage eggs. I know, it’s a matter of semantics, but you’ll see. Before frying the eggs, put a little extra butter or oil or bacon grease in the pan and then put in crumbled sausage, not a lot but enough to taste. Make sure the crumbs are close together and then drop the eggs into the sausage. If there is enough butter/oil the egg should stay intact and cook around the crumbs, sometimes the egg totally hides the sausage. Let it cook a few extra seconds before you turn it the first time and the yolk should not break. You can also do this with small bacon bits.

Practice What You Preach

So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
---Boston

Last week I met up with some classmates for dinner and had a great time. By contrast, earlier that day something happened made me a bit uneasy, something I’ve done some thinking about since. That afternoon I ran into an old classmate who didn’t recognize me. That was a touch irritating at first, but the more I've thought about it, the more I could understand why.

If we all got together today and our amount of change was rated on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the ones who changed the most, I think I would probably be much closer to a ten than to a one. Now add to that the fact I wasn’t one of the more well known members of the class and that I’ve lived all my life since graduation away from Loudon, and I would think the mention of my name would send more than a few people scurrying off to find a yearbook.

So after giving it more thought, I’m okay with not being recognized. Believe me, Donna and Kathey and Brenda have all done their share of getting me up to speed in matching some names to faces.

And that brings me back full circle to something I’ve said on this blog several times. Whatever is keeping anyone from getting in touch with more of us, it doesn’t really matter. Not in the long run. Oh, initially there would be some “My how you’ve changed” or “I didn’t know that was you” type remarks thrown around, but after a few minutes that part would be over, and you would be too wrapped up in getting caught up to even think about it.

We got along okay in school when we were who we were, so now that we are older, more grey, more wrinkled, and some cases more plump, why shouldn’t we get along just as well? It didn’t matter then and it shouldn’t matter now. We had a lot of things in common way back when and we still do, they’re just different pieces of the same pie --- life.

So I don’t fault my classmate. After all, I wasn’t living up to what I have been preaching. We are who we are.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Last night I had a very delightful evening. I was lucky enough to have dinner with Brenda Nicholson, Sylvia Robinson, Kathey Guider, Donna Morgan and Pat Milsaps. There were a few extra wrinkles here and there, a little more grey hair, and our outfits were a skosh wider… or a lot wider in my case… but none of that matter. Within a couple of minutes we were laughing and reminiscing about so much.

Each time I looked across the table at Brenda and Sylvia, every time they laughed they looked just like they did 39 years ago, and Donna had everyone in stitches throughout the night, and Kathey and Pat laughed too, their eyes sparkling like new money.

Sylva brought several things -- newspaper clippings about Lynn Barger, school pictures from grade school and several copies of the Chieftain. She loaned me the Chieftains and I will scan them and make them available to everyone.

We spend three hours laughing and remembering; three hours that were over with way too soon, and the thought also occurred to me that 39 years ago I didn’t spend that much time with these ladies – no more than a class or two we may have shared – yet here we were enjoying each other's company like long, lost friends.

Expect to hear more on this in the next few weeks because we also planted the seeds for next year’s 40th reunion.

I can’t wait to do it again.

Home Cooking

Of the things I missed most after leaving Loudon, right behind my family and friends, I probably missed home cooking more than anything else. I always thought my Mom and Grandma were the best cooks in the world, but everybody thinks that, so most likely they were just the best at cooking what I liked the way I liked it.

What didn’t help was going from Tennessee to California and one way of life to another. Plus, the time period would have to be considered since things have changed greatly since then. But almost everything I liked was unavailable --- or at least they were not available in the cafes and restaurants where I went to eat.

Cornbread was almost non-existent, and so were pinto beans. Fried chicken was seldom found, and biscuits and gravy was nowhere to be seen. There were substitutes for some of it. I found Mexican food had refried beans, which was not exactly the way I preferred beans, but they were very good just the same. The chow hall on base also occasionally served corn muffins and every morning they had creamed chipped beef --- good ol’ SOS --- which is known affectionately to some as Same old Stuff and to others as Sh*t on a Shingle. It wasn’t sausage gravy, but it was military staple and was hot and fresh every morning, and I love it just as much today as I did back then.

Bulk sausage was not always available either, instead links were the most common. They were okay, but nothing like the crisp, thick patties I was used to, and when you ordered orange juice you got this frustratingly small glass that held little more than a good swallow. Finally, there was no sweet iced tea. In fact unsweetened iced tea wasn’t all that common either.

If you could see me now it's plain I was able to adjust, but back then it was almost as much a part of the homesickness I felt as the people and place I had left behind.

Richesin's Drug Store

This was one of my favorite hang outs when I was a kid. Ice cream, sundaes, floats, Ernie served them all up quick and with a smile. If you wanted an extra squirt of cherry syrup in your Coke, no problem. If you wanted nuts on the ice cream, he had that too. Chocolate sauce or a cherry? That wasn't a problem either. And sometimes if you ran an errand for him he would pay you with a single scoop cone. That was better than money.

You could get what you wanted to go or sit in one of the booths that lined the outside wall. It was a wecomed cool spot in the summer. And in the back, just inside the back door and right next to the battery tester, was the jukebox. Three songs for a quarter, I think it was, and for some reason my all time favorite song on that jukebox was "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge.

I have no idea why I liked that song, I just did, and I wasn't even a teenager yet. When I hear it now on an oldies station, I am right back there in one of those worn wooden booths, eating a chocolate cone or, if I had extra money, sipping on a Coke float.

It's this week's oldie clip. Sing it Percy!

What's In A Name?

While surfing the web the other night I found a site with a lot of Tennessee high school football helmets:

http://www.mghelmets.com/Tennessee.html

Which includes this nifty little number here:



That got me to thinking about the hoopla over team names that are seen as offensive to Native Americans. Well, you can't get much more offensive than calling a Native American a redskin. I know, I've heard all the arguments about how it's not meant to demean anyone, in fact, a lot of people say it's meant to "honor" them. Well, I'm not here to start an debate, but that's almost like saying you're trying to honor me by calling me fat and ugly.

So I did some more searching on the internet and guess what? I can not find Loudon's name on any list that is considered "offensive". I saw a lot of other schools listed, included a bunch from Tennessee --- but no Loudon. How did we make it under the radar?

One of you folks who've lived there all this time answer a question for me. Has there been any attempts or recommendations to change the name?

All that aside, I am proud of my high school and it's history, and that includes the name, which is the most visible symbol of my high school, whether it's good or bad.

And I think the helmet is very sharp.

Random Thoughts

I liked the school a lot the first year. It was a very nice building and I was actually a little proud to go there. Obviously it was new, but it was more than that. For one thing we all had equal footing that first day whether we were freshmen or seniors, we were all entering a strange new world. I think our whole class at one time or another felt a little special because we were the first class to go all four years there, and I think we left it in pretty good shape when we left.

At one time or another when we left school at the end of the day, one of the male teachers was always outside yelling at us if we cut across the grass. There was no walking on the grass, which was a little odd since you couldn’t walk all the way around the building without walking on the grass at the northeast corner. But they weren’t outside at lunch to keep us off the grass.

I probably smoked as much as anyone else while I was there, but in all that time, no matter what the function was I don’t ever remember a teacher smoking. Maybe they didn’t even smoke, or if they did they were told to restrict it to the teacher’s lounge, but whether it was during the day or at a game at night, I don’t recall any of them lighting up.

On the outside of the building, why was there a space between the auditorium and the band room? Looked to me like a mistake, but then again I’m not an architect.

What about that garden spot between home economics and typing? I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it looked like they ran out of money and decided to scrap one room. Okay, so I know it was designed that way, most likely some trend in the mid 60s, but it was too small to really do anything with. Are they doing anything with it now?

What would you guess, maybe 30% of the kids drove? Maybe it was more like 25%, but as I recall the parking lot was fairly small. You would think they would have at least consider ball games and made the parking lots bigger.

You didn’t need a calendar to know it was Chieftain day. The upper hall by the office smelled like the mimeograph machine. How the world has changed. Remember the hand written tests that were sometimes hard to read, either because of the mimeograph copy or the teacher was in too big of a hurry to get it ready for class, and the letters were sometimes faded in the middle because the copier only picked up the edges.

One of my most enduring memories of the first and second grade was the early morning smell of peanut butter cookies being baked because at Loudon Elementary, those two grades were directly over the cafeteria. At the high school the only smell I remember is when they made barbeque, and I don’t remember any smells from home economics. Did they cook or bake in there?

The rear of the auditorium was always cool. Late summer when it was hot outside, you could always go sit there and cool off. Plus it was usually empty.

As often as they yelled about walking on the grass, they yelled about street shoes on the gym floor. Coach Ratledge would get so mad sometimes he would chase you. I also can’t think of the gym without seeing Dickie walking the length of it on his hands. That was so cool and he was the only one I know of who could do it.

Loudon Directions

When a friend gives me directions to his house he might say something like, “Go west on route 32, then north on route 31 for around 20 miles to state road 141. We are 3 miles east of 31 on 141.” Effective, but no pizzazz.

I prefer Loudon directions, where the little league football field used to be “Up behind the old high school”, even after it had long since stopped being a high school; or directions to Steekee might include, “turn right there where Miss White’s store used to be”, or “head out like you’re going to Jackson’s Chapel but turn off to the right there not much past the cut off to the old Davis Ferry”; or directions to the high school might be, “out in West End, on the left just past the projects.” Much more character.

Granted, you would need a working knowledge of the geographical history of the area, but the Loudon directions are just as exact as the other, more antiseptic ones I get now, but with a lot more feeling and meaning, where the one giving the directions naturally assumes you know the area as much as he does. There are no preconceived notions about who you are, or why you want to go there --- at least none that are spoken. In a way it’s as if you are being accepted, and we all like that.

Like A Rock

Back in the 80s Moe Bandy had a country song titled "Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life". If I had to pick someone who wrote my life it would have to be Bob Seger. We've already talked about "Night Moves" and how it captured the heart and soul of a teen aged boy, and "Against the Wind" covers a large chunk of my life since graduation, and now in looking back "Like a Rock" echoes some of my thoughts. It came out just about 20 years after graduation, so it seemed to fit so well. And now, almost 40 years later, I've altered one word and you know what, it still fits. Here are the words, with all due respect to Mr. Seger, and I've also posted it as the YouTube video. Read along while you listen to the song and see if it doesn't fit for you too.


Stood there boldly
Sweatin' in the sun
Felt like a million
Felt like number one
The height of summer
I'd never felt that strong
Like a rock

I was eighteen
Didn't have a care
Workin' for peanuts
Not a dime to spare
But I was lean and
Solid everywhere
Like a rock

My hands were steady
My eyes were clear and bright
My walk had purpose
My steps were quick and light
And I held firmly
To what I felt was right
Like a rock

Like a rock, I was strong as I could be
Like a rock, nothin' ever got to me
Like a rock, I was something to see
Like a rock

And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight
Of all these hustlers and their schemes
I stood proud, I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed in my dreams

Forty years now
Where'd they go?
Forty years
I don't know
I Sit and I wonder sometimes
Where they've gone

And sometimes late at night
When Im bathed in the firelight
The moon comes callin' a ghostly white
And I recall
Recall

Like a rock. standin' arrow straight
Like a rock, chargin' from the gate
Like a rock, carryin' the weight
Like a rock

Lihe a rock, the sun upon my skin
Like a rock, hard against the wind
Like a rock, I see myself again
Like a rock

We're Back in Business

I finally got everything back up and running. Folks, I was not kidding when I said on the last post to watch your system. It took me a hard week to finally get everything back up to where I wanted it, and it's not even near where it was. I do this for a living but I absolutely hate to work on my own system, and like I told someone earlier, every now and again the computer gods throw something at you to remind you that you don't know everything, or even as much as you thought you did.

The finally tally was not pretty. I slaved my hard drive to the kid's machine and ran a virus scan against it. I had 638,000+ infected files. I wanted to salvage at least some tax records, my pictures and my mailbox, but the virus attacked every .exe file and every htm/html file and it gutted my profile. All I finally was able to get were the pictures of our trip to Hawaii and my music files, which in retrospect was pretty good.

So remember, back up now and back up often.

Damn

There are so many titles I could put on this post, and until I actually save it, I probably won’t know which one I will use. Long story short, my PC has gone belly up, or as we used to say in the USAF, “Tango Uniform”, which is the phonetic alphabet for T U. I’ll let you figure out what the T U means.

Twenty or so years ago, I fancied myself a hacker. Nothing malicious, just some occasional fun of getting into a site I wasn’t supposed to be in. Life online was good; computer security was lax if it was used at all. However, it did not take long until things really took off and left me in the lurch. Now I’m nothing like a hacker. They are light years ahead of me. I am just a user and sometimes a very poor one at that.

The other night I was on a site I shouldn’t have been on. One of those sites that fit in the grey area between the safe, every day sites and the ones who like to stay well below the radar. I hadn’t been to one of these sites in a few years, primarily because a lot of them used to be supported by porn sites and sometimes you’d get a screen flood of pictures of bare naked ladies and it’s hard to convince the missus that you were not looking at them intentionally. I wasn’t of course, and would close the windows as quickly as I could, but she always remained a bit skeptical.

Anyway, I hadn’t been on this site more than a minute when BOOM! It was almost like a home invasion. Windows started popping up advertising a specific malware cleaner and giving me the option of evaluating it or buying it. I should have closed down immediately, but I had Symantic in place and it had always stopped such things before. This time however, whatever it was came right through Symantic and by the time it caught up with what was going on this thing had a firm hold on my PC. All of my scanners and cleaners were disabled as this thing attacked them first.

I quickly unplugged the internet cable but it was too late. It would not let me use the scanners I already had nor could I load any new ones. I tried to restore my machine from the Windows restore application, but that didn’t work either. I was finally able to get in through Safe Mode to a point I could load a cleaner and it found something like 63 pieces of spyware, viruses or Trojans. It cleaned them off but the system was still limping, so I started the scrubbing process. I thought I was making good headway until last night, when two more viruses got on, apparently through a back door the first group left open, and Symantec tried to clean them but finally just threw up its hands as if to say, “I give up!”

So now my only recourse is to wipe the drive clean, reformat it and install one of my backups, which are several months old since I’ve been lazy lately. I will lose the emails, address books, pictures, personal files, web site work, etc. that we all harbor on our PCs and while I can get a lot of it back, some will be gone forever. It’s kind of like losing your wallet. You get past the money part of what’s missing fairly quickly; it’s the other personal things that bother you the most.

What does all this have to do with you guys? Hopefully nothing, but my ISP did inform me that they had gotten complaints that I was a spam zombie. Apparently, one of the infections was using my machine to send spam to the internet. If any of you got flooded with spam because of me, I’m sorry. More than that though, if you haven’t backed up your system lately, do it soon. External hard drives are getting cheaper and cheaper every day. Keep your system clean, set your machine to clean it routinely, and get a good firewall/virus protection package and use it. Set it up to scan everything as it comes into your machine.

You could save yourself a lot of headaches, not to mention money.

Almost Always

I am a guy who likes everything to be steady with few surprises. I don't mind a little spontaneity every now and again but usually on my terms. The more things are the same, the more I like them. I get used to the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, because that's how it should be.

Living in Loudon had a lot to do with that, but so did school, with things like...

You rarely saw Wayne Poole without Dickie Blankenship, Kenny Parks and Jake Lane somewhere close by.

You rarely saw Donna Morgan without Pat Milsaps and Sharon Crawley close by.

Brenda Nicholson, Donna Kyker, Gail Cunningham, Doug Adkins, Mike Delaney and even Mrs. Morgan was almost always smiling.

We got yelled at for running in the halls, but Mrs. McCall constantly walked faster than most of us could run.

You rarely saw Doug Christian without Wayne and Allen McNabb somewhere close.

The same people always bummed cigarettes.

Debbie Everett and Janie Greene almost always wore a hair band.

Doug Christian always had a wad of bills in his pocket.

You rarely saw Pat Lowe without Steve Knox and Jabbo Lynn somewhere close by.

Brenda McKee, Brenda Henry, Bonnie Bivens, Kathey Guider, Cynthia Blair, Glenda Summey, Kaye Collis, Janie Barrier and Patsy Farmer rarely said anything.

Likewise, neither did Carl Schrimpsher, Doyle Goodsen, Gary Poe, George Wilkerson, Joe Russell, Jerry Jones, Joe Watson and Larry Faulkner.

Allen McNabb would get in some sort of trouble almost weekly.

Mrs. Goode would walk out of her office and stare around the room almost daily because she thought someone was making too much noise.

Also in the library, the Knoxville newspaper was always checked out until late in the day.

Given more time I could probably think of some more.

The Morning After

Like the song says, there's got to be a morning after. I hope we've all had more of the good ones than the bad ones. You know what I mean right? Like the morning after you were married and you woke up next to that person. Hopefully there more thoughts of "I can't believe we're finally married", than there were of "What in the hell did I get myself into!?!" How about the morning after your baby was born and you smiled almost ear to ear even though you had to get up during the night to feed it? Or the day after you moved into your brand new house and you woke up with a million things running through your mind that you wanted to get done? Those kind of morning afters.

What was going through your mind when you woke up on June 6, 1970? Were you happy? Scared? Bewildered? Worried? Relieved?

How about a few months later when the new school year started, did you think about what was going on at school? Did it feel odd not to be going? Did you miss it?

It's Closer Than You Think

Is anyone giving any serious consideration to a reunion? We are just shy of a year away and you know as well as I do that a year seems to go by in the blink of an eye anymore.

I for one would be interested and would do what I could to help. From this distance I can't do much but I can do what I can over the internet or through email.

How does the planning get started? Who started all the others?

A Pledge Drive of Sorts

This blog will soon be 3 years old so it's time for another request for input, sort of like one of those annual PBS pledge drives. I am afraid I'm almost to the point of repeating things over and over or making this place too Doug-centric. I also don't want to start posting my opinions on current events. Like everyone else I most definitely have an opinion on most things, but I also realize mine don't amount to a fart in a windstorm. In fact, with the current emphasis on global warming that fart would get a lot more attention than my opinion would.

So anything you have to share...stories, pictures... anything, would be greatly appreciated. I would love it if some of you posted your own stuff, but heck, I'll take them any way I can get them. The only thing I ask is that they not be derogatory toward anyone.

So come on folks. I know you got 'em so let's give 'em up.

Creating My Own Loudon Cuisine

In 1971 I went to a fast food place in California called Der Wienerschnitzel and ordered a hot dog, and that's what I got -- a hot dog on a bun. I said, "Where's the chili and cole slaw?" She said, "You didn't order it." The small town boy in me didn't realize he had to. I was used to getting chili and cole slaw when I ordered hot dogs.

Over the years I have adjusted somewhat and learned to get by on what's available. For example, a Chicago hot dog is terrific and Nathan Red Hots are great and brats are good as well, but none of them beat a good ol' Loudon hot dog. So I make my own.

For the hot dog I prefer either a Zweigle's or Hoffman's natural casing dog from upstate New York. My daughter in law and some of Sue's people are from up that way and I love these dogs. They have a casing so they pop open when they're cooked and for my money are much better when grilled than any other way you can cook them. If I can't get those I like Ball Park or John Morrell brands.

For the cole slaw I like it simple:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 medium carrots, finely shredded
1 medium head cabbage, cored and finely shredded
In a large bowl, I stir together the sugar and mayonnaise, add the carrots and cabbage, and mix it all together until well coated. Then I cover it and put in fridge to chill before using.

For the chili sauce:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 lb. very lean ground beef
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Teaspoon cumin
1 Teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 8oz can tomato Sauce
1 cup water
Flour, preferably masa flour


1. Heat olive oil and sauté onions and then remove them for later.
2. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Drain.
3. Turn heat to low and add tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic, onions and water to the meat. If you want a little cayenne pepper you can throw it in here too, but be careful. A little goes a long way.
4. Stir it all together well.
5. Bring it to a low simmer and cover. Cook slowly for 15 minutes, stirring several times.
6. The idea here is to keep it as thick as possible, so in a small bowl mix one tablespoon flour with enough olive oil or water to make a smooth paste and add it to the chili. Regular flour will make it thick, but masa flour works a lot better because it enhances the flavor and aroma. Masa flour is made from corn and you can buy it at a mexican grocery store if one is close by.
7. Cook for an additional 10 minutes after adding the flour.

I'm not too particular about the bun as long as it's fresh, however the only mustard that I will use is plain yellow mustard. Anything else steps on the flavor.

Not a true Loudon hot dog, but not bad. :)