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November 30, 2018
Ever seen an advertisement for an event that’s far from home and at an inconvenient time, but you really want to go anyway?
This is one of those ads.
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November 29, 2018
Once upon a time, I was silly on Facebook. Every wasting day. 😂😂😂 
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November 27, 2018
I feel compelled to write my thoughts about Junior Wilson. He died yesterday.
But I can’t find the ability to write eloquently about my 4th grade Sunday School teacher. At least not right now. But here he is at 92-years-old. It’s as perfect of a summary of his 92 years as anything else I could find.
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November 25, 2018
Time for another edition of, “I can’t get that song out of my head.”
This one comes to us from Dwight Yoakum and friends, but the sound that continues to play in my mind is from the guest artist on the record by the name of Flaco Jiménez, who hails from San Antonio, Texas.
Flaco’s accordion pairs well with the song. Without further delay, let’s listen to Dwight, his hero Buck Owens, and Flaco in the 1988 remake of “Streets of Bakersfield”:
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November 24, 2018
I bought this “pocket” AM transistor radio when I was a boy. It was a rummage sale at the Quadrangle Festival that benefitted the Texarkana Museum. Who knows who it originally belonged to. It’s been part of my collection for 35 years. It takes AA batteries but when it was made, there was no such thing. They were known back then as “Pen Light” batteries.
It still works. Sounds rich and loud when it tunes in an AM station.
This evening, I’m listening to 1620AM WTAW College Station from 90 miles away in Waco.
Those call letters stand for…
Watch The Aggies Win
Yes, there’s an Aggie joke in there, as it has been a radio station since 1922.
Let’s see if they win against LSU.
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November 23, 2018
When the high school football team survives the playoffs, that means the band gets to keep marching at halftime. Their season’s not over yet. This is Mansfield, Texas and one of those trumpet players down there on the field belongs to me. I don’t know that I’ve seen a happier child than this one thanks to the marching band.
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November 22, 2018
Let’s be thankful for families like the Chandlers.
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November 21, 2018
From Texas Monthly:
“For those of us who want to experience the good parts of Thanksgiving, while also being able to avoid the parts of the holiday that spike our cortisol levels, there is an option. It’s called Luby’s.”
—Texas Monthly writer-at-large Dan Solomon. Last year, Dan offered a defense of just eating your dang Thanksgiving dinner at Luby’s, where it’s Thanksgiving all year long.
Also from Texas Monthly this morning, a story on cows:
Cow Town
Taking its nickname quite literally, Fort Worth kicked off the Salvation Army Holiday Red Kettle donation campaign with a cattle drive at a local mall on Tuesday. It’s an annual tradition, but it isn’t foolproof. This year two bovines escaped the herd, only to be wrangled by one of the professional cowboys on site (with the assistance of a hard working and very good cow dog). Apparently, one year a cow ran into a plate-glass window at a JC Penney.
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November 20, 2018
I read this morning that Ed Gooden has died.
Ed Gooden looked like he enjoyed his job. Mr. Gooden shined shoes. Years ago, I ran into Mr. Gooden in the lobby of St. Michaels hospital as he was between shines. He was always happy to see you and gave a big hello and a smile.
I later learned worked the hospital by day and the Pines Country Club by night. You might have seen him there.
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November 19, 2018
Remember when we told you about David Beard’s Catfish Village closing down?
Somebody made a tearful farewell and KLTV in Tyler posted about it.
http://www.kltv.com/2018/11/19/video-east-texan-mourns-loss-david-beards-catfish-village-ore-city/
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November 18, 2018
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November 17, 2018
Thanks to YouTube, we “built” a fire in the office “fireplace” this week. Anchor Lindsay Liepman is seen here showing off the nice workplace addition.
YouTube is fascinating for many reasons. One reason happens to be that the site has a cozy fire on a 10-hour loop, complete with crackling sounds.
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November 16, 2018
Scrolling through the day’s news and I find several items of interest.
Here’s one out of Ore City. David Beard’s Catfish Village is closing down.
The Longview News Journal put out the story:
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November 15, 2018
Roy Clark could make a guitar talk. Scream, whine and holler.
Roy died today at 85-years-old.
While he wasn’t a top 10 power singer, his repertoire was extensive. I always got a kick out of his performance of, “Thank God and Greyhound you’re gone.”
But the song that stood out over the years was a tune he played at Mickey Mantle’s funeral. A dark melancholy piece called “Yesterday when I was young.”
Here’s a piece on Roy from the Tulsa World that was published back in 2015.
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November 14, 2018
Be on the lookout for a television show on the Oprah Network in 2019 called “Ambitions.”
The series creator just happens to be a classmate of mine from the hometown. Jamey Giddens was one of my “colleagues” when we wrote for the school newspaper. He went on to become one of the country’s foremost experts on soap operas. His writings have been read by countless soap fans and now his creative work is getting noticed by some important folks in the entertainment industry.
It’s one thing to be a writer. I’m sure Jamey will tell you it’s a whole ‘nother bag of taters to be a series creator. Something you dreamed up and molded in your mind turns into a full-fledged film production, complete with a set, cast, crew, a budget, and a home on a television network.
Proud of Jamey and all he’s done so far. We’re all looking forward to the series premiere next year.
Here’s a link to a much better story than the one I provided above.
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November 13, 2018
It’s snowing here.
I can’t show it to you because these snow flakes are afraid of the camera. I try to take a picture and they float away quickly. They’re shy.
But they’re out there floating by. They look more like ash than snow flakes.
Did it snow where you are this morning?
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November 12, 2018
Have you ever listened to polka on the radio?
This voice on the air belongs to a man in Cameron, Texas on KMIL-FM. They are serious about their Czech heritage and they love their polka.
Small town radio seems like it’s dead.
KMIL-FM demonstrates that, at least on a Sunday afternoon, not all is lost though. While the music may not be your flavor, it’s a great example of a station that serves its community.
I heard commercials for Green’s Sausage, a kolache bakery, and I learned several people celebrated birthdays.
I even actually learned the correct way to pronounce Ratibor and Zabcikville.
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November 11, 2018
There are no veterans of the Great War left alive. We know that event as World War I.
Veterans of the second Great War… World War II are dying quickly.
Statistics kept by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs shows an estimated 372 veterans die per day and only 620,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II were alive in 2016. That number is obviously much smaller today.
But Veterans Day isn’t just for those. It’s for the man or woman who just left the service yesterday. From the minute they leave the military, they too are veterans. From the newest vet to the oldest of them all, it’s for all.
Never forget.
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November 10, 2018
When technical difficulties bring out the old tried-and-true delivery methods.
That’s University of Texas play-by-play commentator Craig Way. It happened at Fort Bliss at a basketball game. The internet service went out and there was no cell service.
He improvised.
He called the game across the Longhorn Radio Network using a plain old reliable telephone
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November 9, 2018
“I got my poor old gray-haired Daddy… driving my limousine…”
-Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show “The Cover of the Rolling Stone”
The great Shel Silverstein wrote that song and it was released in 1972.
According to our go-to online library (wikipedia), BBC Radio refused to play the song because it contained the name of a commercial publication and could be considered advertising. There was a story that went around that the band re-recorded the song as “The cover of the Radio Times,” which was published by the BBC.
Dr. Hook’s co-lead singer Dennis Locorriere sets the record straight.
“What actually happened was that a bunch of BBC disc jockeys went into a studio and shouted ‘RADIO TIMES’ over our original chorus.”
Well… we found a copy of that version and his story sounds about right.
I write all this because I was thinking of my own Daddy. No, he doesn’t drive a limousine. But he’s ridden in more than a few railroad limos, which are nothing more than Town & Country vans.
Today’s my dear Daddy’s birthday and Shel Silverstein’s sense of humor is right up CR1’s alley.
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November 8, 2018
The phone rang early this morning. It was someone at work around 5:30 a.m.
Those calls are almost never good at that time of night. This one wasn’t. Someone opened fire at a bar in California and the number of dead was starting to rise, including a sergeant with the sheriff’s office there. The voice on the other end of the line wanted me to make a decision on whether to stick with a special report from the network, or begin doing local news.
I chose the special report. It was a no-brainer.
As I tried to go back to sleep, I thought about how that question at that time of night might have been aggravating. But I instantly remembered the families and friends of all of those people. They got phone calls in the middle of the night too. Someone knocked on their door in the darkness with the worst of news.
It was hard to go back to sleep.
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November 7, 2018
Did we win?
I don’t know. That depends on the team, the game, and the time & place.
Meanwhile, here’s a brief discussion on the man holding up the newspaper in the opening sequence of the television show “Cheers.”
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November 6, 2018
Did you vote today?
I did not.
I did that the other day along with a bunch of others.
Today, I’m in Brazos County watching the count. Here’s my view of it.
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November 5, 2018
I can’t stay long to update the space here, but I wanted to leave you with the taste of a little red in your mouth. By red, I mean chili. Texas Monthly says this is the only chili recipe we’ll ever need.
I’m putting it on my to-do list to try making chili from scratch per that recipe in the link.
But when I don’t have the time or the desired effort, I’ll make the 100 mile trip south to Austin and order a medium bowl of red at the Texas Chili Parlor.
I know you and I have talked about this before. It’s hard to keep up with what’s discussed. If we’ve already covered this topic, I believe we’re repeating it because it’s worthy of being repeated.
Speaking of the Parlor, here’s a fine image of the place courtesy of someone who contributed to Google. No copyright infringement intended, of course.
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November 4, 2018
The headline on this story is a little harsh, but I can understand the author’s frustration. It may be a shame to set the clocks back, but the country’s greatest shame? We have a few other irons in that fire that might qualify.
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November 3, 2018
Dallas radio and voice-over legend Kevin McCarthy reports that it’s going to be a busy night at Stonehenge as they move all the stones back an hour.
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November 2, 2018
Today is the last day in Texas to vote early. I cast my ballot the other day in the courthouse basement. The line was 20-deep but it was a swift mover.
None of the commercials on TV that I’ve seen for candidates this go-round really appeal to me. This one does. Spoiler alert: this is a fake ad.
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November 1, 2018
November is known as penultimate.
I like that word, penultimate.
It rolls off the mouth with gusto, authority, and it makes you sound smart with you say it. Yes, I had to look it up recently. I felt smart doing that.
The dictionary tells us it means simply… next to last.
Our friend Dell writes that the pumpkins haven’t even been tossed into the trash and there are already commercials rolling on television for Christmas. It makes more business sense than campaigning for Thanksgiving, I guess.
In other November news, Daddy turns 71 on the 9th. Election Day is on the 6th, which means I make my semi-annual trip to see the ballot counting happen in Brazos County. That usually turns into a side-trip to Joe’s place in Wixon Valley to eat a burger and observe Brakefield and James Riley play 42. That’s a domino game for those of you not in the know. It’s much more interesting than the ballot counting.
A fine month ahead of us indeed.
Read posts from October 2018 here
Read posts from September 2018 here
Charlie Haldeman 