catchup day

it was nice to have a day off from going to the comedy clubs tonight, needed the rest and the time to get caught up on ordinary household chores. this included adding to my weight loss journal as i was a few days behind. but it also meant putting away clothes from my laundromat visit on sunday. they were still folded neatly in my basket in the corner. and finally, it meant record keeping for my checking account, getting all of the receipts entered.
   none of these things takes too long, but sometimes it's hard to remember to do them right away when busy. naturally a part of doing laundry means retiring clothing every so often. it meant ripping up a shirt i was wearing at the office earlier today, as i started noticing a small tear on the sleeve. and a pair of socks, i had noticed a hole in one of them i was wearing today and another i had just laundered had a hole as well. sometimes it's a mix and match, where the colors don't match, but who cares? i'm usually the only one that notices. i try to get as much use out of clothing as i can, as i recall i'ver had the shirt for about 9 years. i usually don't retire them until there are holes. it reminds me a little of one of my CDs, 'pleased to meet me' by the replacements. one of the shaking hands had a long sleeve shirt with a well-worn sleeve.
    a notable thing at work was being month end, normally no big deal. but today it was as it meant the lease was expiring in one part of the floor. i was amazed at how much was left behind in the lockers, like books, cd's, some perfectly good hiking shoes, even a 1996 newspaper! unsure what happened to all of it, our facility manager said it would be 'discarded' if left unclaimed. this usually means it will be tossed in the trash.
   i did get another letter to the editor submitted, this time to the des moines paper. it was largely a response to a guest column from sunday, saying i am one of those sons of ordinary americans that experienced the essence of what free public education is all about. and i am one of those newton kids that went on to lives of achievement, referring to the school's name- for emerson hough, a local role model. if he can succeed, then anything is possible.

Me, Giddy?

I got my entry back from a writing contest earlier today, made me feel good. One of the 3 judges really liked reading it, gave me high scores. Had to find and reread what I wrote, 3 poems in all. It still feels magical to me to read what I write. One was about doing open-mic comedy, another was about getting dumped, and the third was about movies. Kind of odd how one said I sounded 'giddy' when I ended the comedian poem, didn't know I could be when I'm usually dour like Bob Newhart. Best game plan is to enter contests with less competition, as the cover page said there were over 1,000 entries. I prefer it when I'm not a longshot.
   When I was trying to find the writings I found one from two years earlier that made me cry. It was one that I wrote to a dear friend of mine after a visit in Chicago. I found a movie analogy that helped me say what I wanted to, from 'Wizard of Oz'. I said I was a Tin Man and she was Dorothy, using the oil can on me when I was rusty. I called her a traveling chum and enabler. Now I've had to stop again after rereading it as I was crying again. I am still very thankful that she befriended me, as she is a wonderful, positive influence on me. Friends like these are rare in life, and it has inspired me to chase some dreams that I wouldn't have otherwise I'm sure. I liked how she only saw what I could do instead of what I said I hadn't done in life- yet. Much like my former boss and mentor, she was patient with me and knew to ignore things I didn't mean to say. Both are still unconscious influences in my everyday life, as it's hard to forget those who won't give up on you. It's too easy to remember the bad things and bad people in life, we should do our best to hold on to the good as much as we can.
     I don't write about my work that often, as there are other things going on in my life besides just my line of work. One colleague of mine is quitting soon. I hate to say it, but I won't miss them as they were my nemesis. They were constantly trying to find fault with me and I just got tired of dealing with somebody who was so nit-picky. I once told my boss how nobody would want to work with me if I was this nit-picky and touchy about everything. Who would? 
    Going to the comedy club tonight was fine, one of my friends was in the contest but didn't win. I was rooting for him as much as I could. Another friend was at the same table as me with his date and said he would like tickets for when I am in a contest next week. I said I can do that, as I can't do enough for friends. I like how he's honest, but fair, with me when he reviews my stage time. He has told me to avoid stepping on jokes, let the crowd enjoy it. As I get better at comedy I think it's easier to do, as I'm not as afraid of forgetting what I want to say. I need a break every so often anyway. Balance is the key.

dental appointment

it was a notable day in more ways than one, as i was back in the office after having friday off. and as usual, it was a busy day so there was little time to catch my breath, had to dive right in. i am pleased that i got the payoff report early, it was waiting for me. makes it easier to submit by the given time. though i still had to hand off one page to my colleague, as i needed to make it to a dental appointment. it was midday, and 30 more minutes i would have finished it myself. but it would be wrong to turn down an offer for help.
   i had a different assistant this time, was told the previous one 'moved on'. i liked talking with this one more, maybe since we talked about more than just family. it was also about traveling, she told me about touring pearl harbor, never been there. i'm helping myself out on the next appointment by having it on a different day of the week, as monday isn't good if i have to wait a while to have beer after they put varnish on my teeth.
    while i like the sense of community at the comedy club, there weren't too many people i knew there tonight. there may be a competing open-mic event somewhere. but i wasn't just laughing at jokes, sometimes i said 'yep' as i was agreeing with it. so comedy doesn't always have to be funny for me to like it, it can also be true. though 'sad but true' isn't as good as funny. it can remind me too much of watching 'nightline', where i'm agreeing with what i hear, and it's sad but true. i think it's a metallica song title as well.
  i'm ordering a shirt in support of emerson hough school, it will be sold at the parade on july 5 but i am unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. since i have to work that day, and have a ticket for the saints game on july 4, it is best to stay here. and i've made 2 visits to newton in as many months, usually it's much longer between visits. i'm pretty well involved already, and pleased that 2 of my letters were published. now it means working on the one for the des moines paper. there was a guest columnist who wrote about it as part of a larger article, well written except for saying 'there's not much hope'. it's not over yet! the appeal to the state is pending, and i think the voters are angry enough to get the board members who voted for closure voted out. sounds like some of the e.h. supporters will run for the board seats, as alexis de tocqueville observed in 'democracy in america' there is the tyranny of the majority.

kaposia days breakfast

I still don't like how too much of my weekends is about errand running, but what can you do? Only the best you can. The day started with going to a pancake breakfast at a car dealership as part of the local festival, South St. Paul's Kaposia Days. Met a candidate for political office, and there were some hockey cards at the table. Found out she is married to a former pro hockey player. In this state, i've noticed it helps to mention you've played hockey when you're running for office. One of the candidates for governor has it in his TV ads.
   Made it back to the Saints baseball stadium to exchange my ticket for a later game. It meant some exercise, as I decided to walk the mile or so from the bar to the stadium, but I like walking a lot. And of course I needed to do laundry, since I woke up after an hour asleep I decided to do it at a laundromat in my neighborhood. I hadn't been there in a few years as I had been going to some others but now I'm unsure as to why. I liked seeing the bigger commercial washers there, so what if it's an extra quarter. Got more laundry soap at the nearby Walgreen, as I was leaving I saw my state representative who noticed my Saints hat. My time doing laundry made me think of a 'Simpsons' episode, but what doesn't? A kid had a toy that sounds like popcorn when the balls move around, and one episode had the professor trying to explain how it worked to preschool kids. Can we play with it? No, you don't enjoy it on as many levels as I do. Brilliant!
    Then I did grocery shopping, and picked up a copy of Rolling Stone magazine. Wanted to read an article that led to a general getting fired, but noticed Lady Gaga was on the cover so I've only read her interview so far. I found another reason why I'm a fan. Or maybe I should say 'One of her monsters', since that is what she affectionately calls her fans. Besides her catchy dance music, and singing part of 'Bad Romance' in French, I'm now a fan also because she spoke of being a misfit, and melancholy, in the interview. This describes me as well, and I tend to like music I can relate to, same reason why I liked Smashing Pumpkins. They even named one of their albums 'Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness', deciding to use a different spelling. I also liked how she makes some intelligent observations in the interview, like having to trick people into listening to something intelligent.
   Thanks to a fellow comic, that I saw onstage tonight, I've discovered another band. In messages on Facebook he spoke of the punk rockers 'The Misfits'. I think I had heard of them before, since a comic at one club had their shirt on, a merger of a skull and the Abe Lincoln profile. And he said it was a foreunner of Danzig. I like all different kinds of music, he was surprised at first that I liked some other punk rockers, Social Distortion. But it helped that they refer to history in one song, 'You can run you can hide just like Bonnie and Clyde', and did a cover of the Johnny Cash song 'Ring of Fire'.
   I guess seeing him tonight reminds me of another important observation I can make about myself. When I see friends at comedy shows I'm more comfortable now with physical gestures like a pat on the back. I grew up in a family that was anything but affectionate, so it was largely a foreign concept to me for a while. but i'm improving, as i did already say to a good friend of mine from work that she 'humanized' me. guess i just had to find people i cared about and those who treated me with respect. i'm now crying a little as i write these words. but it's all right.
    yet another comic noticed how the movies i like tend to be what i call 'diamond in the rough' stories. one of them in particular is relevant here. it's the movie 'seabiscuit', about the racehorse from the 1930s. one line in it said how he just needs to remember how to be a horse. i may have been inspired by it to write some poetry that referred to being a sad little puppy locked up in a cage i built for myself. and how i growled at first at who bought me and trained me to be a winner.
   while it's true that writing is therapeutic, i'm way better off now than i was so i'm not sure why i keep going back to write about the 'dark days'. i know when i allude to it i'm not sure how others react to it, almost like i'm apologizing for being messed up for so long. they must wonder what caused it. was i addicted to drugs? was i sexually or physically abused? no. at times i wonder if people would be more sympathetic if i was, especially when verbal abuse is harder to prove since it mostly leaves invisible scars.
    when i share my story with others, i sometimes hear how i'm not alone in these struggles. but some may be surprised that i still discuss it when it may be holding me back a little. so this may help me in bidding 'adieu' to it. like many other people, and in other times in my life, fate intervenes. and i want to see that it's not costly to me, especially since i don't want to lose any lady friends over it. that would be a real tragedy. i know i don't share it with kids that i mentor, as i want their respect and it doesn't seem relevant to me being there to help them. at least the mention as to why. they probably just want someone to help them, to listen, and i can provide them that without giving them my life story.

hands across the sand

i went to the saints game tonight, scheduled as a doubleheader to make up the rainout from friday. saints lost 3-1 in a 7-inning game. it was starting to rain before it ended, then really cut loose shortly after that. so the second game was postponed. even though i was fine with seeing one game, i liked finding out how my ticket is good for another game later on. i did pick one up already for the july 4 fireworks game tonight, so i can exchange the rain check for the july 7 game. it is a big promotion night, a bobblehead.
   one of the few good things about the half a rainout was while driving home i heard a song i really liked on the radio, 'the story' by brandi carlile. i like how she sings with so much passion. even said so in my review that i wrote for ticketmaster when i saw her concert at st. kate's in september.
   earlier i got an email from a classmate, letting me know i got another letter to the editor published. i sent one to both newton publications, hadn't heard yet about this one. it was edited, but it had happened before, i just like seeing it printed. not sure how she felt about describing myself as a nerdy, shy working class boy from the wrong side of the tracks- when discussing another subject. but sometimes i still feel this way about myself, even if it no longer describes me well, or ever did in some cases.
     it was very much a full day for me, starting off with the 'hands across the sand' event. wanted pictures of hough and teddy roosevelt, found them online. and got some poster board from the nearest walgreen so i could do a sandwich board, saying i was there in memory of 2 conservationists. went to the wrong lake at first, lake of the isles. got confused since i did have a date there, kissed her there in november. so i had to go over to lake calhoun. as expected, i drew attention, but one of them wasn't expected. i saw one of my comedian friends with his lady friend, they were walking a dog. i was surprised to see him wearing a 'when i think of you' shirt. it's a janet jackson song if i'm not mistaken. also didn't know he wears glasses, he doesn't when on stage. yes, the sandwich board got me noticed. a few people wanted pictures of me in it, and they helped me get one of me on my own camera. but holding up signs there wasn't too big of a deal, as many others did the same, just not the same way as i did.
   it took a while to get back to my town after the event, had to walk back to my car. but it took even longer since there were road closings and construction delays. went to a festival in a nearby town, nicer weather for it than last night. saw a car show at the high school, took 4 pictures there. it was of a 1949 buick, much like the 'rain man' car, and another one from the same model year, a studebaker. also found a 1923 ford streetrod, and a 1970 ford torino. had a steak sandwich and water there, i was hungry after all of the walking and it was past my normal lunchtime as well. nearby i found plenty of tents, including one where i bought an inflated homer simpson doll. i think a disabled girl in a wheelchair wanted it, as i saw how she reached for it but wasn't that close. i raised my hand to her and gave her a 'hi'. got an ice cream sandwich in the same area. then i found a nice mural about the town's history, including its stockyard heritage. needed 2 exposures to capture all of it. on the way back to my car i saw a historical marker at a church near the school, saying the first methodist mission in the state was in the town. i like how i can find history, if i pay attention. it's true of many things: if you're looking for something, you will likely find it.

camp oz volunteer

i had the day off from work so i could help out at a camp in a neighboring state, but less than 30 miles away. a big part of what i did as a volunteer was chase down basketballs that had bounced away. there seemed to be constant flow of kids to the courts, so i stayed busy. one of the balls popped, but it looked well-worn. i did like listening to the stories the kids had, one of them spoke of being a.d.h.d. and autistic. i said i noticed how autism has been spoken of more since 'rain man' was a best-picture winning movie. i even had one kid come to me needing help as his hand was cut, so i took him inside to the infirmary to get cleaned up. it may have been due to scratching an itch, after some of his fingers were bandaged i said he should try not to scratch it. the volunteer coordinator introduced me to a few more campers who needed help, it sounded like they wanted me to see that they avoided wandering off. one spoke of seeing war planes in the air, they were planes but not military. another kid sat down next to him was trying to correct him, but i said 'take it easy, boys' twice but they kept it up. i was given a shirt, and a light lunch, with the other volunteers and staff members, just some salad and breadsticks. it did feel like a rewarding day to me, and i don't get that feeling every time. i had wondered before how i could help others, which led to me entering my company's mentoring program, but i don't get as many emails from my student as i had hoped. eventually i was asked to help with packing up equipment as it was the last day, and it meant stacking chairs in one room among other things. i tried to get all of the shelving units back in the given boxes but was unable to do so, one was left out. and i helped with loading boxes on the truck, though most of them were run up the small hill with a cart by another volunteer. i liked knowing how much i was needed there, the volunteer coordinator kept thanking me for being there.
    i tried watching 'millionaire' and 'jeopardy' when i got home but i was tired and kept falling asleep. i did watch 'the simpsons', an episode i had seen recently, where principal skinner was running around on top of a shipping container. earlier, i had jogged my memory a little and reminded myself of a 'simpsons' episode about camps, it was when bart took over camp krusty in a coup. good thing i didn't mention it while at the camp, might have given the kids too many ideas. i did speak of going to church camp when i was younger, i had never seen a y.m.c.a. camp before. this one had just celebrated its centennial last year, a reminder of how the legacy of conservationists like emerson hough is very much alive. there was a 'y' in my hometown, but no camp there that i knew of, though i did youth basketball there and i think they organized the little leagues as well.
   watching a video on a late night local show, 'impossible' by shontelle. i like how there's plenty of raw emotion in it, and it was one that resonated with me when i first heard it on the radio. especially the line 'all my scars are open'. so i've proven that i can write about musicians besides lady gaga. earlier i liked seeing eminem and jay-z perform on the rooftop on 'letterman'. both did a song by themselves, em did 'i'm not afraid' and jay did one about bringing back the money please. the one together was good, including lines like grin and bear it, if the shoe fits wear it. and just a kid from the gutter. i think it's called 'renegade'. i may not be a kid from the gutter, but some genres of music ring true with me, those that capture the struggle of life well like alternative and rap. when i'm around my comedian friends i try to stay modest and sometimes say
'aw shucks, i'm just a shy working-class kid from central iowa'. a description of sen. charles grassley once started with those words, 'aw shucks', which i thought was kind of funny.
     i wanted to attend a local festival in a nearby town but the thunderstorms led to the parade being canceled. i still got a schedule and a button from a dairy queen when i ordered a blizzard, so i know when the car show is and the pancake breakfast. also ate at a new gyro shop, so new they had kids lounging around in a back room, only some saloon-type doors separated it from where i was and the oven. no refrigerator, just a cooler full of canned soft drinks. i got soaked after leaving the shop to get back to my car, my umbrella was bending in the wind.
    it may have been just as well about the change in plans, since i found the time to watch a d.v.d. on loan from the library, 'babes in toyland'. i knew it was later the name of a music group, and was based on an operetta, since it was on a historical marker i saw in pittsburgh. love visiting the keystone state, pennsylvania, so much history there! the movie did remind me of 'wizard of oz', and i noticed the villain was played by ray bolger, the scarecrow in 'oz'. it was nice to see them get plenty of fairy tales in it, though i'm still partial to 'shrek', since it is a satire of fairy tales. a ray gun in it reminded me of 'honey i shrunk the kids'.
    it likely will be a busy but fun day on saturday, besides the festival there would be an activist event, 'hands across the sand', at a local lake, aiming to change america's energy policy in the wake of the oil spill in the gulf. the saints baseball game was rained out tonight, and they plan on making it up as part of a doubleheader. i like their nightly themes, for saturday it's a celebration of a century of scouting. so there would be two events where i'm honoring the legacy of emerson hough, and his friend theodore roosevelt. it would be a good idea to have a homemade sign saying who i'm there for.

schedule change

it was a long day at work, as my 'tag team partner' was ill and i had to do special requests, instead of having an easier, 'catch up' day. i worked through my lunch, eating at my desk and even stayed an hour past my normal leave time. but i got everything finished.
   looking forward to a day off, volunteering at a local camp. and my merchandise order arrived today, a beach towel. found out i could order one that said 'emerson hough huskies' with the dog head logo on it, as a show of support for the school.
  this was a catch up day at home as well, as i ended up putting things away and getting junk mail shredded, as well as getting entries made in my 'food and exercise' journal. it's a year old now, but i'm still making entries in it as long as there is space. i am proud of what i learned during that time, losing 25 pounds. i liked knowing it means i can do things like meet the weight requirement for the bungee cord trampoline at festivals and fairs. did that at the taste in my first year here, plenty of fun to release some pent-up emotion. i called it my 'lt. dan in forrest gump' moment as i was yelling much like he did during the hurricane. i think it's also why i like a short, obscure song by green day called 'she' as there is some screaming in it. it helps there is a line in it that resonates with me, 'she figured out, all her doubts were someone else's point of view'. it was an epiphany i had reached, once i parted ways with negative people and started listening to positive people more.  some might call these 'diamond in the rough' stories. they describe me well. we tend to like what we can relate to, as it's what we understand well.

the right notes

i had a first date tonight, felt good about how it went. dates have been compared to job interviews before, and this comparison does help me out. i wasn't good at either for a while, but had to step back and try to learn some lessons from it all. i thought i had hit all of the right notes before, but it was not to be. she seemed impressed by some of what i do, like the writing and comedy. at the outset i said it's starting off better than the others, since we have some things in common that i didn't have with other dates like being from iowa and being hawkeye fans. haven't told her yet about the blog, but we did talk for 90 minutes over dinner which is good. and i showed her my recent letter to the editor. scheduling has been a problem so far, since she has been out of town often on the weekends, but i was fine with making a weeknight available.
   when i called my college roommate about it, mr. physics in memphis, he told me he expects to be moving to new jersey for work in about six months. he said he would be traveling much less often as well. he hasn't had a gig that close to me yet.
    i'm still unsure about my weekend plans, but attending a baseball game is likely. and a local festival sounds appealing as well, a colleague said she attends it often due to living in that town. i enjoy the food, drink, and music at festivals.

passions and influences

went to a comedy club tonight and it was for another edition of the contest, liked seeing many people i know. one of them is a youngster that just finished his first year of college, and he took second tonight. he had a great joke about family sections at baseball games. it's usually no problem separating the good comics from the lackluster ones. i had hoped another friend would advance on but it is very competitive, i like his jokes about his son, and another which ends with 'no, grandma'. i would have made it there much earlier tonight, but i spent about 20 minutes trying to find my 'comic card', getting me in free. i did find it, then kissed it.
    i was offered free tickets to an advance screening of a movie at the same mall, but it is wednesday night and i have a scheduling conflict, a date. otherwise it would have been a great idea. i had done an advance screening before, seeing the original 'shrek' when i lived in suburban chicago.
   i was excited about showing my letter to the editor to friends, it evenutally reminded me of my influences in writing. these people helped me make it my passion, by pushing me. one of them, mrs. jarchow, was a high school teacher, who said 'you can do better' and was right. the other was a college instructor, named natasha, a grad student/teaching assistant. she did an 'interpretation of literature' section. her comments at the start of one of my writings was 'state it with conviction!' and she was right. i must have been trying to justify or apologize or explain my argument too much, and if it's a good enough argument you won't need to.
      i also remember her well as she was a sweet woman and was a little affectionate with me, putting her hand on my shoulder once when i was meeting with her after class. it felt nice, but also foreign to me. for those who wonder what happened after that, nothing did. those who have read previous postings know why it felt foreign. i didn't learn about love at all from my family, as it and affection was largely absent when i was younger. this is why i was fine with being 'adopted' by families more caring than mine. i am fine with being affectionate now, when i care about somebody enough. i definitely like hugging some of my female colleagues that became friends.
     while it might be nice to find out what this instructor is doing now, i'm not sure it it's a good idea. i did that with one college classmate that i had asked out, then lost the nerve to call her back when she called me. i was an idiot! but i was also lost then, wasn't ready for a relationship due to the self-esteem problems that had plagued me and refused to admit, let alone do anything about. i found out she had a doctorate, and was married. and i then sent her a letter, saying you might remember me. did i even consider how she felt? no. she might have blamed herself for why i failed to call back, i don't know. but i also learned that it does no good to keep pining over missed opportunities, and sulking about wasted time spent on the sidelines. this is why i'm going to make the most of it on this first date tomorrow.

leaving early

normally i stay for the entire open-mic show, but it was running long. one of the surprises was having former 'family feud' host louie anderson telling jokes. saw few of my friends there, i think they were at another show.
    long day at work, as i was doing special requests again, usually keeps me busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. which is kind of funny to envision.
   liked seeing comments about the hough pictures, and my editorial, on the facebook site. one said it made her even madder knowing the history, that it is happening to 'his school'. this is somebody i had already called our group's 'pit bull', didn't know it was possible.
     there is also something about ordering shirts for the school's fund, and the fundraising effort will be at the 4th of july parade. i did ask about getting one mailed, since i am unable to make it back for the parade, scheduling conflict. i'm sure it's possible, even if it means sending a little extra for postage.

college world series weekend

i made it back earlier today after a weekend of baseball travels, which included going to omaha for the college world series. need to write about it more later, as i have work in the morning. i did call my dad earlier, and wished him a happy dad's day and for his birthday, which is monday.
   my letter was posted, and there is a link on the save-the-school page. looks great. i added a few more pictures to the fan photos, as i had done research on emerson hough  at the izaak walton chapter in newton, which is named for him. there were already 9, i added 7 more. one was of the ike's chapter, one of the street in the newton suburb of lambs grove. one of the hough home marker, across the street from the school. one of another school sign, one of the man himself, one of the football field, and finally some kid's artwork in the window calling it the best school ever. i like kid's artwork, it's what i recalled about the war memorials in washington, dc, and for cardinals pitcher darryl kile in st. louis.

meeting minutes

i had numerous opportunities to write today. first was doing the meeting minutes for my department at work. since it was wednesday and i am out of the office friday i knew i had to write it today. i get plenty out of any writing i do, i can feel exhausted after writing a simple email, much like dorothy parker. i want it to sound just right.
  the next one would be editorials about emerson hough (the man) as to why we should save emerson hough (the school) in my hometown. i decided to tailor it differently due to the earlier suggestion, making it mostly about the man, who has received little or no mention when discussing the school. it would mean coming full circle, as i delivered the newton paper when i was a kid. the headline the first day i delivered said 'and the walls came tumbling down', referring to the demolition of the churchhill hotel.
   the third would be writing a review of the blues traveler show last night at the zoo. i had already shared a little on my facebook page. i gave it a good review. i had written 4 reviews earlier for ticketmaster, and it was odd how it only took four to make the top 1000. guess that not too many bother to do reviews. previously, i had reviewed phantom of the opera, brandi carlile, a bears-vikings football game, and the ncaa basketball tournament- a regional in st. louis.
   i fell asleep after work, unsure if i will have the chance to get caught up on sleep this weekend but i doubt it. the local news stayed on the air for a while due to storm warnings. there was a tornado, but in a different part of the state. we just got a little rain here.

blues traveler concert

after work, and a little rest, i went to a concert tonight. blues traveler was playing at the zoo. i had seen one show there before, the indigo girls. nice show, i did hear the songs i had hoped to hear. there was 'but anyway', 'run around', and 'hook'. the last of the 3 was the final song before the encore. they did covers i recognized as well, like 'what i got' by sublime, 'creep' by radiohead, and in the encore they did 'want you to want me' by cheap trick. i thought it was odd that frontman john popper kept having smoke and drink breaks during the show. but i liked hearing plenty of harmonica playing from him. even brought mine and played it a little during the show. sounds like i wasn't alone, i heard a few others. one fan had a hat and sideburns, looking a lot like the frontman does. i get a feeling i get at concerts that i get at few other places, a feeling that things are all right. this is because music makes me feel good. it taps into human emotion the way few other things do.
    i got a suggestion from facebook that i write an editorial about emerson hough, the man. i said i was working on it, but had only considered the 2 newton publications, also suggested was the des moines paper. i liked how i was noticed about my passion for telling the story of the man while we debate the future of the school named for him. in the response i found out she was the one selling cookies at the fundraiser. i said i wanted m and m since it reminds me of a favorite musician, eminem. but she had only heard of the name, this actually came as no surprise. still a good story though. we must fight the good fight because it is necessary to fight for what is just.

walking partner

it was a decent day, at work i had a walking partner that is a good friend of mine. we walked 7 laps and spoke about music and football. i said i was trying hard not to make this a lady gaga fan page, but have written about her some already. last night when i was looking on youtube for a video of 'dyer maker' by led zeppelin i found a cover by lady gaga as well. she did it while performing under her real name, stefani germonatta. the change in persona worked well for her, she looked and sounded mediocre by comparison when using her real name. it also sounded too much like the no doubt lead singer, gwen stefani.
   tonight i was back at the comedy club, for a 'funniest person' contest. a good friend was the headliner. he has good jokes, and i laughed a lot. but i did more than laugh. he told a sobering story that left a lasting impression on me. he spoke of being a heroin addict for 3 years, even did a joke about it. but when i saw him after the show i made no mention of it. he probably already knew it was brave to share the story, no need to say it. as amanda marshall once sang, 'everybody's got a story that could break your heart'. i knew about what it was like to be held hostage and consumed by a monster, but it wasn't drugs. i grew up in a cauldron of verbal abuse and anger, and it made me into a sullen malcontent. i could relate to movies like 'girl interrupted' and 'beautiful mind'- those who struggled with mental illness- and songs like 'she' by green day provided comfort, capturing the struggle of life so well. i think it was why i turned to writing, since i felt more comfortable alone and it was one of few things that made me feel good. it provided some answers for me. as bertrand russell said, anything you're good at contributes to happiness'. i may not quite be where i want to be just yet, but i'm closer than i was. you do whatever you can to keep going, to survive. but the fun in life is to thrive, not just survive. and i am thriving more often now.

football website

i made it back to the comedy club for mondays after missing the last two. it was closed memorial day, and i was so tired i decided to stay home last week. but a few of those i know weren't there tonight. since i was tired tonight, and wasn't picked after signing up, i decided to go home early. it was a full club, and i was slow to go claim a seat too. but i still like visiting with people, the sense of community is nice. one fellow comic was eating mussels, i wasn't sure but they were in shells. i was so tired after work that i kept falling asleep on the bus home.
    it was a long day at work, i was busy for most of the day which isn't normal. after getting home from the club i liked hearing from a classmate on facebook, the same one who started a website about the newton football team. he shared with me how he did attend emerson hough school, and saw players from central junior high practice at the school. i said that central was a part of my memories of my family moving to newton, since my sister went to central for a half-year in its final year. i saw the school first before my own as my sister was dropped off first. and we went to a chorus concert there as well. it is something i refer to whenever they talk of the "MASH" final episode, as the concert was the same night. my dad was upset how he couldn't see the final episode, as most people didn't have VCRs to tape it then. he did eventually see it, as there was a copy of it available at the video store. it has been re-aired  a few times in prime time too.
  i am still amazed at times how i can think of what to share, but i keep finding a way. but then again, just about anything might trigger a reminder- or tiein- to a 'simpsons' episode. a memory is truly only valuable when shared with others. this is why history, especially oral history, should be documented and preserved.

taking the stage

i do some open-mic comedy every so often, like tonight. i arrived during the workshop, and started writing out jokes i wanted to do. no problem finding material when i write it down in a little notebook i keep in my denim jacket. after writing down 9 items, i settled on 5. i ended with how online dating not going well, which is a joke that gets laughs since it's relatable.
  didn't do quite as much emerson hough research today, as i wanted to get a look at the newton football newsletter. it had been mailed to me for a while, since i was an equipment manager, but it is now online. this was my first time looking at it since it moved online. almost had forgot about it, but then my dad reminded me- when this emerson hough ordeal began- how they once played football at the school. so eventually it led me to finding the newsletters to see what was in it. only needed to look at the last 2 editions, they only publish about 2-3 times a year, most recent edition was in january. i noticed the name of a classmate on the first page of this edition. he has an article about starting a website about the football team. i saw the team photo from when we went to the state finals, i was a junior. i am in the back row. there is an article about the history of football, it says it is the first of several articles about it. no mention was made of walter camp, called 'the father of american football', hopefully a later article does cover him. i went to a yale football game in 2004, they lost to lehigh, and there were a few pages in the program about walter camp, since he was a coach at yale. i can find out if i can write the article, might as well ask, it's worth a try. there is mention of the scholarship fund as well, i can inquire about this as the game- and what i learned from it when on the team- still means plenty to me. i had a football helmet on my class ring, even though i never put on a helmet, to remind me of my time on the team. i gave to the memorial fund for ed thomas, the coach from aplington-parkersburg, for this reason. i said that as an iowan- and as a member of my school's football team- it meant something to me.
    the next thing i have is the newton football schedule, but i haven't been to a game since 2007, the game played a day after the maytag plant closed. i got pictures of the boots and shoes left behind by the workers, and the homemade sign that looked like a tombstone. 'rip maytag, best appliances, and people, in the world'. 'i love you all, best wishes'. last year i went to an a-p game, tough to know what to do this year. i hate how i am already thinking about football travels, when it is only june and my favorite sport is baseball.
    i did find an article about buster keaton and captain dynamite johnny o'brien, from the u. of washington. but it is hard to find anything about o'brien himself, no wikipedia page, and still trying to find where hough wrote about him.
   next one is about the field of dreams, i was prompted to find it when i read an article in the paper suggesting to see it before it is sold. it is for sale now, and i did see it once before- in 1990, with my dad. it was a year after it was at theaters. it was where i learned that james earl jones was the voice of darth vader in 'star wars'. there was a sign next to the field, and it spoke of the roles the actors had before it.
   i started thinking about what weekend i could see it, and wondered if maybe i could shoehorn it into my upcoming weekend, where i go to the college world series in omaha. need to find out what teams are playing, the super regionals were held this weekend. i like baseball a lot, so i will try to find a way. the logistics may be a little tricky, and it means some added driving of course.
    i have spoken of lady gaga already, and i keep watching the youtube video of her song 'alejandro'. it is a catchy song. i saw some online photos of lady gaga, at a mets-padres baseball game. some were shocked at how she was scantily clad, i say let her wear what she wants as long as it's legal. much like with eminem, i eventually liked her music after listening to it, deciding to make up my own mind instead of letting others do it for me, like the media.
    it likely will be a full weekend, but a fun one and a rewarding one. i am not only interested in doing more emerson hough research in person, but also got the idea of finding the maytag mansion- now the administration building for the schools- and going swimming at maytag pool, a place i got swimming lessons as a youngster. i took both for granted when living there, and had a hard time even knowing where the mansion was, so it means pictures of both. we must not forget our origins, our roots. like it or not, it is still a part of who we are, and always will be on some level.   

Robin Hood starring russell crowe

i liked seeing 'robin hood' starring russell crowe earlier today. it was a nice psychological probe, that is why i preferred it over the 1991 version starring kevin costner, which was more of a romantic story. guess it proves i'm not too much of a romantic. as a fellow comic said in his act, chivalry is dead. in many ways, so is romance, as the divorce rate is so high. i don't care to say much more about the movie, as i don't like it when people ruin movies for me. it is long, over 2 hours.
   i checked the national register of historic places again, this time for ramsey county, minnesota, which includes the capital city of st. paul. as expected, there are plenty of places listed, and i have seen many of them. the capitol building is on it, as well as the hamm building downtown, where i have seen some plays. the hamm's brewery complex is there as well. with the hamm building i had taken a picture of the monument about the hamm's cartoon bear. sadly it looked too much like a tombstone. plenty of buildings in downtown st. paul are listed, such as churches, but also mickey's diner, where many movies have been filmed. i have eaten there, but it has been a little while. also seen the james j. hill house, tours were mentioned as part of the winter carnival before. one building listed is actually in maplewood, but said st. paul, the county poor farm. it is part of the county complex that includes aldrich hockey arena, and the county fairgrounds. i think the barn is the actual site of the 'fright farm' haunted house i like going to each halloween. unfortunately it was where a reserve police officer was hit by a car last october. i happened to be in line for the haunted house when it happened, word was starting to spread at the time.
  comes as no surprise, i did some more emerson hough research. first, actually, i did a cross-reference on the sierra club and the izaak walton league, as hough was a co-founder of ike's and the organizations are both about conservation. i found a page from midwest environmental advocates that spoke of the two groups suing jon de farm, inc. in wisconsin for feedlot runoff. it was a violation of the clean water act, and was in 2001 and 2002.  another is more recent, from june 1. it was about first lady michelle obama expanding her campaign to combat childhood obesity. there was a coalition of organizations mentioned, announcing a partnership called outdoors alliance for kids (OAK). besides these two organizations, i noticed the YMCA was in the coalition as well. no doubt the 'y' is about physical fitness, and it was a place i went to often as a youngster in newton. they also sponsored many of the youth sporting programs i was in, like basketball and maybe even the little league. it was one of three public pools i knew of in newton, and the only indoor one, where the high school swim meets were held. the other two pools were the country club, where i've had a class reunion, and maytag pool, inside maytag park, where i had swimming lessons.
  speaking of maytag park, i did some hough research that mentioned it. i had received hard copies of the newton football newsletter, but it is now online. i had heard of how football was played at emerson hough field, and there was mention of it in the newsletters. this was in the 1920s and 1930s, then the games were moved to the current site known as h.a. lynn field. the current field was a w.p.a. project, built in 1940. central junior high played games at emerson hough too, i recall my sister's yearbook from central with pictures about it, celebrating its final year, in 1983. my family had just moved to newton, and later that year it became the haunted house, as the city just looked for a different vacant property each year that was going to be demolished. i had wondered for a while why there were goal posts at the school grounds. anyway, before playing football at the school, there was mention of playing at the county fairgrounds. didn't know where that was, but according to the newsletter historian it now is maytag park. i have never attended the county fair, as it is not in newton despite being the county seat. i know maytag pool was dedicated in the 1930s, must have been when the county fair left town. why it left, i don't know. but the current stadium is near the park. made sense to hear how football was played there, as the texas state fair still has some football games, at the cotton bowl. and i have read the history of where n.f.l. games have been played, and it said the green bay packers had played some games at the wisconsin state fairgrounds in milwaukee. various events are held at county and state fairgrounds, like car races. those venues are often available for booking, since the fair is just a few days, or weeks, out of each year.
     i did my best to cross reference hough with jack london, i had seen them mentioned together. apparently they held some of the same political views, which would now be called xenophobia. on the jack london wikipedia page, it mentioned he wrote of the 'yellow peril'- the chinese. and hough had written 'the web', listed as a reference for prison camps in world war I. i found an odd thing about unsolved or 'cold cases', something about jack london's home being destroyed by arson. need to read further about the connection with hough, must be a separate story in the same book. most likely it is a story about the murder of his friend, wild west lawman pat garrett. i also found an article about a book called 'tales of the seven seas'. it was about captain dynamite johnny o'brien. it said it inspired writers like london and hough, and the movie 'navigator' starring buster keaton. now i will need to look up captain dynamite as well.
    there were two notable things i did before and after the movie earlier today. i had meant to get pictures of the hockey arena in st.paul, named for 'charlie brown' creator charles schulz. but i hardly ever am near it. i got one picture of the sign from the road, but the arena was locked so i was unable to get one of the snoopy statue inside. i had wondered if there was anything besides the name honoring schulz, and there was. i saw the snoopy statue after the maya angelou poetry reading at st. kate's college last month. i made sure to get the highland park water tower in the background of the picture, found out it is on the national register as well. after the movie i had dinner at a chicago-style sandwich shop, again one i had driven past before but hadn't stopped at. got a gyro there, and they helped me make a nice find, a 'simpsons' pinball machine! i played two games, it was 2 quarters a game but only needed one for the first game, kind of odd. and i heard homer's voice, 'keep it coming', when a second quarter was needed.
    it proves one thing: if you search for something you want, you will find it. sometimes it takes a while, but i eventually get things crossed off my 'to do' list- or bucket list- as i try to stay aware of the opportunities, and how it means enough to be to accomplish it. i would much rather be a doer, and talk about the things i have done. earlier in my life, i had spent too much time around those who talk about wanting to do things but then they don't have the follow through to do them. it's no fun being around these kind of people, too many excuses. as my football coach said, excuses are.. for losers. he had us complete that line. it's all about priority, and credibility.

War research

i enjoyed being at a baseball game tonight after a long day at work. i needed the time to unwind for multiple reasons. it wasn't just the workday, but also checking my cellphone messages. i don't do this every day, since i don't get calls every day. there were 2 messages waiting, one from my date. i had met her about two weeks ago, and she called me earlier today. she said she was canceling sunday's date since she had met somebody that had really excited her. it wasn't entirely surprising, but still disappointing. i've gotten better at figuring out body language, like how she seemed to be in a rush to leave at the coffee shop. i don't think it was just due to needing to walk her dog and get to work. same with how she preferred communication by email, except for when she dumps me. i've been doing online dating for a while, and i meet only a small fraction of my matches. like 1 in 250. even fewer last longer than one date. while i am still optimistic about future matches, it helps to have expectations in line with reality. i have no interest in seeing her again, even if she comes calling again, like if this new guy doesn't pan out for whatever reason. i haven't met anyone who truly likes to hear that they are somebody's second choice. while i prefer honesty over lies, there is such a case as being way too honest.
   but enough about that. i really like going to baseball games. i didn't get an advance ticket but it was no problem finding just one for me. i like the nightly themes, and tonight was an american revolution theme. the reason given was the upcoming us-england world cup match. there were things like yankee doodle, an artist that can draw you, a fan being showered with eggs benedict arnold, and boston tea in my favorite promotion, 'what's in the bag?' it's a takeoff of 'price is right' and 'let's make a deal'. it always seems to be a good joke to me. there was one costumed character, much like when they had lincoln penny night and 1930s night. it was of general washington, holding a rowing paddle, since they had him crossing different parts of the stadium, of course referring to crossing the delaware. it was one of the few times i got up from my seat, so i could get a picture of washington. since i was behind the plate a few rows i liked my seat and didn't want to get up from it much. they lost 5-3, never led during the game. picked up another souvenir before the game, a hand towel. i have wanted to get them one at a time. next one would be their plush pig.
  the colleague i ride the bus with might be bored hearing about emerson hough research i've done, but i haven't asked him yet. but i'm still researching. i checked further the items available on e-bay, and while i would like a copy of the movie 'covered wagon', based on one of his books, i don't wish to pay $100- for a vhs tape no less. must be rare. i did confirm on wikipedia that the actor playing the villain in it is alan hale- sr.- the father of the actor who played 'skipper' on 'gilligan's island'. i was amazed at what was there, even a program from the criterion theater in new york city, mentioned in some hough biographies. also notable is where some of these items are located, like the french versions of the movie posters. one is in quebec, canada, no surprise there. another was listed as tel aviv, israel. i recognized how it wasn't literally translated into french- as it is 'the caravan west' in that language. looks like some of the postcards are affordable.
     when i entered 'creel used by emerson hough' in a search engine- in reference to what the ike's chapter apparently has on display- i was pleased to have found plenty of articles. one was on library thing, and it was in alpha order so he was next to john houseman, the actor from 'paper chase'. i know him best from 'silver spoons' and the smith barney commericals. another was internet archive, and propaganda. it was in reference to his writing of 'the web', about the american protective league in world war I. still another had an article about the fort douglas war prison barracks, in utah. the article was from uiuc, at first it stumped me, but it was the u. of illinois at champaign. it was part of a system of 3 POW camps, the other 2 being in georgia. it was for german and austro-hungarian internment, and was in operation from 1917-1920.
   hard to say what i want to order next, and when. i recall wanting to order a customized 'simpsons' mug with homer at bat, but this school ordeal did divert my attention from ordering it. but i also know that the school ordeal motivated me to start blogging more than most other factors did. we must remind ourselves how good things can arise out of bad things.  

izaak walton Chapter

got caught up on work today, which was nice. but even nicer was getting a response to an email about emerson hough research. it was from the izaak walton chapter in my hometown, named for hough. i did send a few questions, and expressed interest in touring the facility when i am in town soon. i would enjoy seeing the hough artifacts there, like the creel that was in the newspaper article i found at the county museum. had to look up what a creel was, and as expected it was a basket. there was a wikipedia article about it, like so many other things out there. it said it was used in fly fishing, which hough liked to do along with many of the founders of ike's.
  i also looked up what school apparel could be found online, i had bought from alumni class before. i ordered a travel mug, sweat pants, and shirt with the e.h. name on it. since i had also wanted something that said 'huskies', their mascot, i made sure to order accordingly. and since hough had played football, and i was on my school's team as equipment manager, i wanted one that said 'football'. so the shirt says football, the pants say huskies, and the mug says elementary. haven't used them yet but at this point i want to keep them pristine. i found another site called spirit shop, or prep sportswear, and it had beach towels, unlike the other site, but i left the site and went back in later, noticing it went from 'emerson hough' to 'ehes'. may be just as well, since i already had plenty of towels. but it would have been cool to have a huskie head on the towel.
it can be something i get should the appeal of the school closing be successful.  guess they didn't waste any time to disable anything with the e.h. name on it. i am thankful to have bought some e.h. stationery at the fundraiser last month. one of them is on display at my office. next thing would be to get a picture of hough there as well. after all, i already have one up of lady gaga that i had found online.
     i can still order things like some of his books and movies, like 'covered wagon'. i saw a vhs copy available on e-bay. in fact, i found a hough item on an odd site. it was called 'elite view'. address given was in cheng du, china. must be why most of the characters were not in english. it had 'modern indoor decoration, delivered from the US'. it was of his movie, or book, 'north of 36'. near it was 'wizard of oz' by l. frank baum, somebody that hough had worked with. another said 'american stadium', and i said it looked like yankee stadium in new york. upon a closer look, i was right. this was found when looking at the hough photos on google, where i had found my own photo from facebook. it was in reference to a posting i had made on the pat garrett fan page.
     speaking of ebay, i am watching jay leno as i write, and he is going through items found on ebay. i don't watch these shows much as i like watching 'nightline' instead. but it is not on right now, due to the NBA finals. one should be well-informed, it is why i like the news shows. i had originally started watching 'nightline' in 2005 as i wanted more coverage of hurricane katrina. even though it saddened and angered me to see new orleans drown, i wanted coverage. i wouldn't have cared much, but i loved my visit to the city in november 2002. i called it a 'benchmark' in my life, as i left behind many of my cares about life in the french quarter. i had to get out my souvenirs to remind me of the 'big easy' i had wanted to remember, and not the one unfolding on t.v. it was gut-wrenching to see the footage of the man on top of his flooded house, waving a red flag and next to two girls holding up a sign that said 'help us'.
  naturally, we must do more than be well-informed. once we have the news, we need to act upon it and do something about it. knowing about ills and doing nothing is no better than not knowing.

last day at the school

i read the postings on the 'save emerson hough' facebook page, as i knew this was the last day at the school- for now, anyway. looks like the appeal will be heard by the state in late august, about when the next school year begins. some of the comments found do make me smile or laugh, but not all of them. somebody referred to people being tarred and feathered, but how this is no longer acceptable. i don't enjoy the trash talking about how the money is being wasted on the appeal. but there were some good rebuttals to it. like how women suffrage (the right to vote) happened due to actions of the citizens getting involved. recently, i was told by a tour guide how many sent donations to support the legal efforts in the dred scott case, credited as a precursor to the civil war. but we all know how the stance is not popular with all, we have to ignore critics and keep moving. another referred to what likely was a john paul jones quote from the american revolution, i think he meant 'i have not yet begun to fight'.
    i noticed how it did help to search google for a change instead of just yahoo. found some emerson hough pictures- the man, his books, and the school. even found one of me, as i said i was researching hough. it was from the save-the-school page. of course some weren't about him, they were about julianne hough or about other emersons. but searching online isn't perfect, we all know this fact. but it's still quite good. i was pleased to find one of his books in spanish- 'la carreta'. i think it's 'covered wagon'. since there was one on the cover. and my online searches led to the translation being 'cart, ox cart, or prairie schooner'. it was the name of some restaurants as well. and i looked up other schools named hough, some are not in america but canada and britain. others i found were in vancouver, washington and in  charlotte, north carolina. the one from the carolinas intrigued me the most. there was some controversy about naming a school 'hough'. it was for a popular admininstrator, but there was some worry that it would be mistaken for slurs like 'ho' and 'huff'- a drug reference. whoever thinks this reads too much into things, and has too much time on their hands. or just plain cares too much about silly, unimportant things. i like using the word 'asinine'- it seems relevant here as well. didn't like having to explain the meaning to my dad one time when using it, especially since he then said how charlie used the term on 'two and a half men'. well i figured he would have understood the meaning, based on usage and context. anyway, i asked for the school system's help on spreading the word, from one hough school to another. though it said it wasn't opening just yet, would be in the fall.
  work was a little easier today, lower volume of work, which was nice. a colleague i sometimes ride the bus with to and from work was telling me about going to japan next week, will be there for two weeks. he is big on japanese language and culture, much like my college roommate, the physics major living near memphis, tennessee. he was unfamiliar with the movie 'gung ho'. i said it starred michael keaton, who he knew was in 'batman'. 'gung ho' is a nice movie about culture clash between the japanese managment and american workers at a car plant. i sometimes call him 'pop culture psychiatrist' as at first it seemed he was trying to analyze me whenever we spoke. he just likes to rephrase and ask back as a question, so he understands. i do understand him, whatever he's saying, no problem there. but he does use big words when rephrasing that might lose some people. i still enjoy conversations with him more than most colleagues, due to the intelligence level being comparable. same is true with the theater man, who i like to greet by saying both his first and last names. i've seen a few of the plays he has worked on, doing the background music or sound design. it is nice to know about some of the outside interests that people have, working in corporate america. as a former boss and mentor once reminded me, her job is just one part of her life. which means it's good to have more going on in your life. what i like about seeing a longtime friend, a little league teammate, is how we don't talk about our line of work much when i see him. there are more fun topics than work, and try to think about work as little as possible when off the clock. though his job is more interesting than mine, as he works in a casino. and he has told me about getting pit boss training. it is good to be well-trained, and well-rounded.

comedy show

i made it back to the comedy club tonight, since i wanted to see one of my buddies perform in the contest. and he did do my favorite joke, which was nice. he did quite well, finishing first, so he will advance on in the competition at the end of the month. i still like it how so many people recognize me there. but why not, since i'm a regular? i do like the sense of community, after searching for it for so long. i went, despite being tired. i needed a laugh anyway since it was a busy day at work, playing catch-up after a busy monday. but i did end up perfecting plenty of contracts, which i do like doing. a lot.
   after work, i added more things i like to my facebook page. most of those things were movies. may have helped that jennifer hough from the previous day said she liked seeing many of the movies on the page. and how i had a 'passion'. and i do, for writing.
   i looked at the facebook page about emerson hough school, and i was annoyed to read a recent posting about how things are already being tagged to be moved to other schools in town. as the posting caption said, it just seems wrong to pick over the bones before the mourning is over. apparently the last day- at least for now- is wednesday. snow day makeups extended the school year a few more days. i don't think they have as many in schools that are in big metro areas, but then again newton,iowa, is no metro area. some buses go onto dirt or gravel roads. sometimes the announcement is on certain days that buses will only run on hard-surface roads. makes sense why, as a bus could easily get swallowed up on those soft roads.
   it is not over yet with the school. the appeal to the state board is pending, to be heard in july apparently. it in some ways reminds me too much of the movie 'final season', about the norway,iowa, baseball team. it happened to be playing at newton's movie theater when the maytag plant was closing in october 2007. i was in town that weekend for the newton football game against des moines lincoln. newton won that night, 49-14, to advance to the state playoffs. and the news story the next day in the des moines register was also about what happened at the american legion next to the stadium. there was a 'maytag party' where people took turns swinging a sledgehammer at an old whirlpool dryer. whirlpool had bought maytag, and decided to pull out of newton shortly after the sale closed. i preferred them smashing it to any type of vandalism that could have happened. when i was in high school there was a statewide news story about union members smashing a japanese car, a 1974 subaru, as they were frustrated about many of their fellow uaw members losing their jobs since many were buying japanese cars. i liked what my english teacher said at school the next day: people will buy american cars when they make better cars. later, there was a story in the paper about the previous owners of the car. they hated seeing it smashed on t.v., and i don't blame them one bit. their story said they bought american cars again when the quality got better, kind of like what my teacher suggested. i still don't know how to feel about all of this. i had little interest in staying in newton for long after finishing college. i had seen a wider world, and once i found a job after a few months i moved to the des moines metro area. i know the ills in newton are in too many other small towns as well- left behind by the economy because they are small towns. and young people not wanting to stay around, since the opportunity wasn't there like in larger towns.
   it seemed appropriate on some level some of the movies i added to my facebook page. some of them remind me of my hometown all too well. 'roger and me' by michael moore. the others were fictional ones, 'gung ho' and 'all the right moves'. all were about crumbling factory towns. and when i bought a DVD copy of 'moves' it was when the maytag plant closure was announced in may 2006. i followed it with the 'greatest hits' CD by bruce springsteen. one of the songs on it was 'my hometown'. how the town crumbled due to factory job losses. 'son take a good look around, this is your hometown'. i did my best to do just that the last time i was there, and will try to do the same on my next visit as well. but i wish i didn't have to, but i have a hard time recognizing the town i one knew. it's hard to say goodbye, and it's sad.

spreading the word

i am becoming more aggressive on spreading the word about the plight in my hometown. i have been trying to find as many tie-ins as possible to emerson hough to get more help. i was amazed that he has a listing on the mtv website! but he was one of the first western writers to sell the movie rights to his books.
i have sent messages to authors who have mentioned hough in their books, as some still do. these tend to be not just books about the west, but also world war I. billy the kid continues to be a fascinating subject to many, and hough was one of the first to write about him- and pat garrett. i checked not just bookstores on saturday, but also sunday- making it to barnes and noble. i had hoped to find mention of hough in the index of books about pres. theodore roosevelt, but i haven't just yet. his auto-biography is there, but it has no index.
also liked finding a small book about the forts in the plains states, a reminder of my native state. there were some forts there, like ft. dodge and ft. des moines. many cities- like chicago and pittsburgh-started as military forts.
some might laugh about some of those i have contacted for help on saving the school. i went to filmmaker michael moore's website, and submitted a story about it. don't think he has covered schools much yet in his books and movies, but i think he would like the story. i said he would probably like the story's title- 'fighting mad'. and said more media attention may help in making a difference here. another is the white house, and i said pres. obama might recall visiting newton last year, touring the wind turbine plant. i said it was sadly a case study on the ills of schools.
even looked for tie-ins on facebook, such as others with the name hough. this included julianne hough of 'dancing with the stars' fame. also found jennifer hough, a holistic nutritionist in canada. she said her dog's name was emerson hough, but it is for the philosopher, ralph waldo emerson, and not the western writer. her website is called "the vital you", and is a best-selling author. there was some mention of matt damon on the site, who was in my favorite movie, 'good will hunting'. i was unable to get her help on spreading the word, but i do like how i got a quick and courteous resp0nse.
the next idea i have would be derek hough, julianne's brother, and charlie hough, who was a major-league baseball pitcher. according to wikipedia, he is now a coach with a minor-league team, a dodgers affiliate, one of the teams he played for. some called him 'the chuckster'.
might be a good publicity stunt for derek and/or julianne, to make an appearance or even do a concert at the school, or somewhere else in town. i think pres. clinton may have done this while a candidate: visiting clinton, ia., so it was 'clinton in clinton'. the town was likely named for dewitt clinton, of 'erie canal' fame if i'm not mistaken. in my wikipedia searches i even found an article about the 'hough riots'. it was a race riot in a section of cleveland,ohio, in 1966. i was more familiar with riots in towns like detroit, or the watts section of los angeles.
no matter what happens, i have found a real passion here- writing, and activism. i have learned plenty as well.
i made it through the workday, which wasn't easy since i was tired. haven't gotten enough sleep recently since i have been doing so much research. this is why i decided to rest and not go to the comedy club for open-mic night. but one of my good buddies- and favorite comics- will be performing tuesday, so i do plan on going to that. when i went to get dinner tonight, i was told that i would 'turn into' what i was eating. it was egg rolls. you are what you eat, and there are less healthy things to eat out there. i've lost more than 20 pounds in the past year, so i've learned plenty about diet and exercise and applied it to my everyday life. one of the staff members said they would like to see me perform soon, i said i was going to be in a comedy contest next month. one of the few good things about skipping tonight was seeing 'big bang theory'. it was tough to give up watching it regularly, but i did it.
last night i wanted to do an entry but system problems prevented me from doing so. i liked making my first visit to a satellite location of a comedy club i frequent for open-mic nights. impressed with the paintings there, told the club owner it reminded me of 'royal family' portraits. the man was in a top hat. he said it was once owned by a man named 'diamond jim', whose companion was actress lillian russell. it reminded me of how smashing pumpkins, a favorite band of mine, named their first album 'gish' after actress lillian gish. i still like learning history wherever and whenever i can, and you will if you're willing to pay attention and look for it. i find that this is true of most things though- it you want something bad enough, you find a way to get it done.

attended a graduation

this afternoon, i went to a high school graduation. my student from the mentoring program was graduating. it was held indoors, good thing-since there was rain. i was moved by one of the songs the choir performed in the ceremony, it was 'stand by me'. i was singing along with them. the oddest thing to me was how the graduates weren't crossing the stage in alpha order. i saw my student after the ceremony, who said it was due to not everyone getting their diplomas. there was a recent news story about some students not meeting math standards, but i thought none of it at the time. i liked being able to find my student, as it meant i could give him the picture from last week's event. it also meant getting better pictures, since we were outdoors and my camera- albeit digital- doesn't always take goos pictures indoors, especially when dark. so i have one of the graduates spraying silly string all around. after the ceremony, i didn't go back to my car right away. i wanted to find a candy bar, since i like having one after lunch. i had enough time for lunch, but wanted to get to the venue on time- the auditorium on the university campus. found a candy bar at a gift shop inside a hotel, along with some nice postcards. and i noticed a nearby movie theater had been closed about two weeks ago, unsafe to occupy. i had seen one movie there, a documentary filmed in my native iowa called 'king corn'. it was a good story about 2 college grads from boston that move to iowa to farm one acre of corn- and all of the things they found out about the industry of farming.
but that is not the reason why i said the movie plans were a no-go. i fell asleep for a while after getting home, then decided to see a movie in a nearby town, 'robin hood' with russell crowe. but the showing was sold out, and i didn't want to wait until late in the evening for the next showing. so i finished my drink and breadsticks outside the theater before leaving. i had eaten at a target snack bar nearby, there was a personal pan pizza special. hard to say when i will see it now. i know this had happened before, over a year ago. i wanted to see the jim carrey movie 'yes man' with my then-lady friend but it was sold out. so we went to her place and saw a video there, 'the great debaters'. i eventually saw the movie at a discount theater by myself about a month later, she had broken up with me by then. i do like russell crowe movies, as he did 'american gangster', 'cinderella man', and 'beautiful mind'.
i didn't go home right away. i noticed there was a borders bookstore nearby, saw it while on my way back. so i decided to do more emerson hough research, what else? i'm wondering if anyone else is blogging about him, if there is there's not too many i would expect. i wanted to see how many listings there were of his books in their database, there were 280. but i recognized many as just different printings of the same novel. i knew he didn't write THAT many novels, the bio by delbert wylder only said he wrote 37. that makes it comparable to the number of plays by shakespeare. hough did do some plays, though apparently they are long forgotten, along with many of his novels. thanks to this, i found more things to look up online. i decided to order a piece of carrot cake and some juice from the cafe, since i had been there a while. even looked up the world war I books that reference hough, but like hough's novels they were listed as 'see associate to order'. so they were not in the store, but i know borders doesn't keep all books in their store. many can still be ordered through their database, new or used, as they do have an extensive network of stores, especially for rare or out of print and used books. i did go over to the history book section to see what was there, and one book caught my eye. it wasn't a lincoln book, i have a decent number of those already. i was interested in how much, and what they say about ann rutledge. historians debate what ann was to abe, if they were engaged to be married. we only know for sure that she died of typhoid, eventually he met mary todd.
the book i found was one about pat garrett and billy the kid. i knew hough had written about them in 'story of outlaw'. he gets a few pages in the index, and i looked at those pages. there was mention of hough being approached for money to investigate the murder death of his friend, pat garrett, but hough apparently said 'leave it alone'. there was mention of theodore roosevelt as well, since 'teddy' was president at the time, in 1908. on another page it spoke of replacing garrett in one of his federal lawman positions, and his financial problems. hough had wrote to roosevelt on garrett's behalf, as all three were friends.
after getting back home tonight i did read through the hough bio i have, giving me even more things to research. before, i had only looked at select pages due to checking for certain names in the index. since i like history books, i like reference books and being able to flip right to what i want to see. the index allows me to do this. he sure seemed to be a mover and shaker, knowing many of the prominent people of his time based on all of the names in the bio, various people he was in contact with over his literary career. there was mention of joining the same organization as jack london did. the more i read, the more i like as i can relate to some of his struggles. but as lincoln said about himself, 'paint me, warts and all'. hough has some warts in his bio, at least by today's standards. but who doesn't have any warts? who isn't above reproach?

Emerson Hough

i am amazed at what i am still able to find about emerson hough. while trying to find an article that identified hough as a co-founder of the izaak walton league i found another honor bestowed on him. a street named for him. the ike's chapter in newton is named for him, and in one cross-reference i found emerson hough drive. i recognized the name of the resident on that street, it was the parents of a classmate. and i knew they lived in lambs grove, a 'suburb' of newton. its main claim to fame is having one of newton's schools there, thomas jefferson elementary. according to the wikipedia article i found it gave the town's population as 200. some are likely surprised to hear how a town of about 15,000 would have a suburb. i felt the same way when i saw biographies of filmmaker michael moore. it listed him as being from davison, mich., a suburb of flint, instead of flint itself.
didn't go to lambs grove much, aside from going to t.j. school a few times like for a chorus concert in junior high. some think i still look and act like a choirboy, it depends on who you ask. others think i am the complete opposite, a hothead. it likely also depends on my mood and the environment. students from rival schools liked to call the school 'town junkyard'. one time in college i did make a pizza delivery there as well, to that same classmate. her mom said the change i gave was cold, it was after all winter in iowa. so on my next visit to my hometown it means getting a picture of that street sign as well.
i did find other pictures of hough honors, some are higher quality than others. the ones from my visit two weeks ago for the fundraiser are good, like the school and the 'fort' playground. the one of the ike's chapter is good, from 2007, when i was back for my most recent class reunion. a reunion was being held there, but not mine, which was at the country club. i also have one of the school and the boyhood home marker, from 2005, i think i was back for a cookout with family at woodland park. but i was trying to get the house in the picture, so it is hard to read the marker itself. i was pleased to find how the boyhood home marker is considered a landmark in town, there were plenty of hits online when i entered those key words. but no pictures of it were easily found. it's odd how attitudes change about things over time. but it's true how some things mean more to us when it's no longer 'old hat' to see it. i was largely unaware of the boyhood home marker when living there, maybe since i went to another grade school in town. i knew there was a big rock in front of a house near my cub scout pack leader, and he happened to live near the home and the school. this was why we sometimes had cub scout meetings at the school. my greatest recall was of things like the pack leader's son, who was also a little league teammate, pretending to be a lion tamer at a circus. and i was one of the lions. we went by initials for the lion names, having 'double a, double l, and jc'. it may have been the same one when we had a sign up saying 'happy birthday to us', meaning the anniversary of the cub scouts organization.
also notable was finds i made when looking up 'far from the madding crowd', hough's first published article. found out there was a book, and many movies, of the same name. the book was written a few years before hough's 1882 article, by thomas hardy if i'm not mistaken. i know it as the name of a bookstore in west des moines,ia., where i bought my copy of 'gilbert grape' after it gained notoriety from media attention that an iowa school had banned it. likely made the book even more popular than ever, got me to read it. and get the movie version as well. i had lived in that section of west des moines for a year and a half, called valley junction, after college. but i don't think the bookstore was there then. it has been a while since i've lived there though. it's a nice historic section of town, plenty of antique shops there, and a farmers market in front of my apartment building every thursday. i lived right over the businesses on that street, hence the number was 224 1/2. also liked the words 'valley junction' spelled out in red brick in the wall
at the end of the block, and on the other side of the cross street.
work was a little easier for me today, maybe since it was friday. there were concerns about traffic problems due to a protest downtown, late in the afternoon. but it was over before my workday was done. looked outside the window and saw mountie cops, which are popular for crowd control. a colleague told my boss about it, something about protests at a state government agency in our building, and trade with israel.
i once made an observation in a writing that was in a national publication saying 'lincoln is everywhere'. well i find that if you're willing to look, emerson hough is everywhere, or at least his influences are. praise to the internet, it is a wonderful search tool!

anniversary party

after a day at work that meant dealing with an annoying, nit-picky colleague, i liked going to do something i really enjoyed. it was going to the loft in minneapolis. they were having a 35th anniversary party and i got the invite due to being a member. i liked sharing my story there, on camera and on a stickie i placed on a timeline wall. i recognized many of the writers who had appeared there over the years, like susan allen toth, garrison keillor, maya angelou, billy corgan, and madeline albright. enjoy the cheese they have at these banquet- cocktail party type events. also saw an accordion player, reminding me of cajun mardi-gras music as well as polka music from my annual visits to oktoberfest in new ulm.
i got some contacts that should be able to help get more exposure on the blog, and mentioned it when i had the chance tonight. i liked sharing my story, and my inspiration- you guessed it- being emerson hough. i seemed to get a 'wrong start' just like he did.
i said i would mention the loft in my blog, and as you can see i kept my word. i like keeping my word, doing what i say i will do. one has little without it. street cred goes a long way in life. anyone familiar with 'the boy who cried wolf?' i once dated somebody that had flimsy excuses, so i call her the GIRL who cried wolf'.
this entry should be shorter than others, as i am tired and want to catch up on sleep tonight.

Wikipedia Searches

i got a good look at the links on the wikipedia page about emerson hough, there were 5 but i only liked 4 of them. project gutenberg doesn't list all of his books, and it's harder to select his listing as it's one big scroll. 'covered wagon' is missing, which became a movie. big omission! where's imdb when you need it? i liked world cat more, showing the most widely held works about hough. i have 2 of these bios, the one by delbert wylder and the auto-biography as well. though one of them listed is the covered wagon movie, not ABOUT hough! then it goes to the most widely held books by hough, which is nice as it lists how many editions, how many libraries have it, and the beginning and end dates of these editions. there is also a description of the content for some of the books. it then gives related identities, either those he wrote about or worked with, like bobbs-merrill, a publisher.
next is the collections held at the u. of wyoming, and u. of iowa. made sense for both universities to have some of hough's papers. he attended one, and of course yellowstone park is in the same state as the other. though it says the wyoming collection is no longer being maintained, unsure what this means for sure. it states what is included in the collection, and a brief bio of hough after it. the iowa collection is a larger article, 9 pages. i like how there is a picture of hough on the first page, next to a covered wagon. looks like the same photo in the book covered wagon. also has a brief bio, then the box contents list. finally is emerson hough's american west, a 10-page article by carole johnson from books at iowa 21, published in november 1974. i think i had seen this one before, as it mentions how he sadly didn't enjoy a big success for long. he died just a week after seeing the chicago premiere of the movie covered wagon, based on his 1922 book. the first page has covers of 6 of his books. the last 3 pages are just the bibliography.
i still don't like how it's hard to find mention of certain important things that are his legacy. i again mean in his hometown, like the school and the ike's chapter. most are just covering the man, and it would be nice to see mention of the two stories together.
not too much to say about work today, though it was nice to see my 'work spouse' show up for a half day, must have been after an appointment. i showed her a gift card i had ordered through our reward plan. it is for barnes and noble, i go there but go to borders more often. both are nice stores. the card had a caricature of shakespeare on it. hard to say what i will get with the card, though i noticed an auto-biography of theodore roosevelt at one of their nearby stores. i liked his lively spirit, known for saying things like 'speak softly and carry a big stick'. i like one quote about him, by one of his opponents, after he became president due to mc kinley's death by assassination. 'great, now that damned cowboy is president of the united states'. i saw theodore roosevelt island in washington, dc, in my last visit a year ago. and who could forget ways he keeps showing up in pop culture? robin williams played him in 'night at the museum'. truly one of a kind, a legend- then and now. a classmate called me a legend, since i did things my own way. some call this being a 'maverick'. it's the only way to be truly successful, going with a game plan
that works for you personally.

so and so

work sucks, especially the day after a holiday, since things pile up. that's all i should say, as i liked seeing this workday end.
so yes, this is one day where i needed a laugh and got one. i went to a comedy club inside a mall for a comic contest. i did sign up but just missed the cut, though i said to the coordinator that i would make myself available as a fill-in. i know there are no-shows from time to time. i knew many of the comics onstage tonight, and even though i had heard many of their jokes before i wanted to hear my favorites and did.
though the highlight was seeing somebody that wasn't performing tonight. it was seeing a comic that i share more laughs with than most. except for the m.c.- he's a friend too. i will do my best to describe him, usually i go more by what their jokes are than their appearance. he does have a shaved head, hard not to notice that. i laugh hysterically when he does a voice just like the grizzled, wise old trainer in the 'rocky' movies. then there's ones about his garbage bag window and real estate brokers, and his dad. i guess we do have some important things in common- both from small towns in the midwest and we like to get our dad in some jokes. don't know if i ever have known anyone like the comics i know now. they wouldn't have been fraternity brothers, as i never joined a greek house. guess they are what they are- drinking buddies. kind of like the ones in 'good will hunting', my favorite movie.

he would call me 'you old so and so' and then i made that one my own, so this is how i greet him. he has also called me ' you SOB', which i don't mind at all. now 'rapscallion', one that i really like, after looking it up of course. defined as 'rascal'. which makes me think of going to a minor league baseball game in davenport,ia., last season and seeing their mascot, a raccoon named 'rascal' since the team is called 'river bandits'.
i've encouraged this comic friend to read my blog, i'm wondering what he would say. i picture him saying things like 'who is this emerson hough you speak of?' and 'you're a nerd!' well yes, I AM A NERD. Duh! i majored in history, after all. and i made it a joke one time onstage, how the only time it looks cool is in movies like 'bill and ted' and 'night at the museum'. hopefully he would also say 'you're still cool, since you spoke of lady gaga'. yes, her song, 'alejandro', is one i heard again tonight while driving home from the comedy show. it's a captivating song to say the least, really catchy.
well this means i have to talk more about emerson hough now since i've already mentioned him. enjoying all of the research i've done. i read the wikipedia article, among other things. no pictures with it, some entries have pictures. i was familiar with the DAR placing a marker in front of hough's boyhood home in my hometown. so i decided to look up isham randolph, since this is the name of the chapter on the marker. found out it was a grandfather of thomas jefferson, and he was a son of a founder of william and mary college in virginia. this is one of the oldest schools in the nation. this was found on a page dedicated to the elizabeth randolph chapter, in missouri. elizabeth was jefferson's aunt, and isham's daughter. but i didn't find anything on isham's chapter, may be an inactive one. i know there was no listing for a chapter in newton, but there is one in marshalltown, 30 miles away. i did tour the DAR building in washington,dc, last year, before seeing a concert by gladys knight at their constitution hall.
next article i have is the national register of historic places listings from november 8,2002. it was a weekly list of actions taken. this is where emerson hough elementary school is announced as being listed, as of october 24. 2 high schools in des moines- roosevelt and lincoln- were listed as well. finally we have chapter 12, 'a national park service is born', in 1916. hough is mentioned early. 'before and during the hearings [in congress] and on into summer, the friends and adherents of stephen mather and national parks let loose a torrent of publicity for the parks and for the bill. george horace lorimer and his saturday evening post, featuring herbert quick, emerson hough, and other writers, kept up a running commentary.' this was the only mention of hough in the article. plenty of times did i see mention of yellowstone park, which comes as no surprise since it's the first national park. the next thing would be to look up mather's connection to hough further, and to the sierra club.
odd that i only became interested in hough's life and legacy only after leaving iowa. i had enough chances before then, like looking at the hough collection of letters at the state historical building in des moines. could have looked at them in my spare time since i held a clerical job through a temp agency there. actually at a records center nearby, but under the same 'umbrella'. i went to visit one of my former bosses and mentioned this interest, he informed me of the collection. same is true with the collection at the university of iowa, as i went to that school. but my literary interests only seemed to come to the surface after a job transfer six years ago, when i joined a literary center and started taking writing classes.
at least i finally made it, doesn't matter how long it takes as long you make the most of it once you get there. my main regret from learning tough lessons wasn't the lessons themselves. they were valuable ones. but it was the time i wasted to get there. but i know i usually didn't get where i wanted to without making a few wrong turns first.