Wednesday, October 17, 2007

HEY Y'ALL:

See ya at Cowboy's Friday nite!!!!


Roy Orbison Jr. & Jimmy Page (image courtesy of
http://www.myspace.com/royorbisonjr )

This article by Roy Orbison Jr.
http://www.myspace.com/royorbisonjr
from Roy's myspace site http://www.myspace.com/royorbison
should elicit some response from the ZERO MOB!!!!


LED ZEPPELIN & ROY ORBISON ARTICLE !

(Written by Roy Jr )

I Love Led Zeppelin! I Just Love 'em!

It would be easy to write a whole article on why & how, but I'll keep this limited to parts of their story relating to my father, Roy Orbison.

At first glance, there would seem to be few connections between the music of Led Zeppelin and the music of Roy Orbison. It will be fun for me to point some out.

My Father was one of the "Four Horseman of the Apocalypse" of Rock & Roll. Under the guidance of Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis,Tennessee – Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis set the world on fire with Rock & Roll in the 1950's.

Jimmy Page has said that the reason he wanted to play guitar was the Elvis song "Baby, Let's Play House" and that he learned all the Sun Records stuff note for note. Jimmy is a smart man and an avid fan of music, so it is likely that his first introduction to Roy Orbison was the song "Ooby Dooby". It is a fast song with Roy taking two guitar solos. ( In the Rock & Roll years, Orbison was known more for ferocious guitar picking than his voice and songwriting. Along with Scotty Moore and Carl Perkins, he was noted by Sam Phillips as the best guitar player at Sun. )

Another of Roy's Sun Record singles, the first self-written song he recorded , "Go! Go! Go!" (also known as "Down the Line") , would occasionally turn up in Led Zeppelin's live show as part of the medley in "Whole Lotta Love". ( One recorded example was the 1976 January 9th show at London's Royal Albert Hall. )

Robert Plant's introduction to Orbison's music is described by him in the Life of Roy Orbison documentary "In Dreams" -

" Roy first came into my life when I was twelve years old. Only the Lonely (1960) was his first big, big hit in England. I bought that record . . . I used to do a paper route . . . delivering morning newspapers, and I was already developing a love for black American music. New Orleans , Chicago music. But this one voice, along with Presley, offered me some kind of clue as to what was coming up in my adolescence." -

In a 1972 Led Zeppelin concert in Seattle, Washington, "Only the Lonely" would be used as part of Robert's "improvised" lyrics during the "Whole Lotta Love" medley.

A subconscious reference can be heard in Robert's song lyrics -

"Had a friend she once told me,

You got love, you ain't lonely,

Now she's gone left me only,

Looking for what I knew."

The Yardbirds (featuring Jimmy Page on guitar) were the opening act on the Australian leg of a Roy Orbison's 1967 Tour. The new manager for the Yardbirds was Peter Grant. The shows were the first gigs he booked for them. These were the first audiences to see Jimmy's technique of bowing his guitar like a violin. So Roy was one of the first people to see what would become one of Page's trademarks.

Jimmy and Roy became good friends on this tour.

There is still a story Jimmy has tried to tell me about a guitar, but we've never had time for him to finish. Dad's stage guitar was a black Gibson Les Paul Custom. It is still heavily associated with him. Black hair, Black Sunglasses, Black Gibson Les Paul Custom. He later switched to a black Gibson ES-335, but during this period and until 1972, (as can be seen in the video "Roy Orbison – Live In Australia" 1972) the Custom was an "Orbison thing". With Led Zeppelin, Jimmy is famous for the Les Paul Standard. (it looks about the same as the L.P. Custom, but sounds different.) During this Yardbirds-Orbison tour his guitar was the same as my father's guitar of choice – a black Gibson L.P. Custom. Jimmy's guitar was lost or stolen on this tour and I think the story he has tried to tell me involves my Dad helping him somehow. (But I'm not sure about this. I think also remember my Dad telling me Jimmy would meet him at the airport like a fan when he flew into London and that Dad would bring him strings and guitar parts. But I haven't confirmed that either.)

7,000 people attended the opening performance of Roy's Australian Tour in Sydney, where in the middle of January it is summer. The temperature soared close to 100 degrees f. The paper says many girls were carted off to the hospitals. ( I assume that was because of the heat, but many girls still fainted romantically at Roy Orbison's shows. )

The show was relayed by radio and reached people a thousand miles away. It was a big event for Australia at that time.

It was opened by a local band. Next up were the Yardbirds. They did their most popular hits, including "Shapes of Things" and "I'm a Man". There was an interval, followed by the Walker Brothers. Then Roy came on and did "Only the Lonely". The kids went wild with screaming, but were quiet during the next song and every other song so that they could hear it all.

The tour dates were as follows:

Saturday, Jan. 21 - Sydney Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Sunday, Jan. 22 – Sydney Television Show ?

Monday, Jan. 23 – Sydney Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Tuesday, Jan. 24 – Adelaide Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Wed., Jan. 25 – Adelaide Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

(After the Adelaide 8:45 Show, they leave for Melbourne immediately, arriving at close to 1 am.)

Thursday,Jan. 26 – Melbourne Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Friday, Jan. 27 – Melbourne Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Saturday, Jan 28 - Brisbane Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45)

Monday, Jan 30 - Christchurch , New Zealand

Tuesday, Jan. 31 – Wellington, New Zealand

Wed., Feb. 1 - Hamilton , New ZealandThursday, Feb.2 – Auckland , New Zealand

Friday, Feb. 3 – Orbison flies to New York

In those days it was common for acts to do 2 shows a night. Roy Orbison would tour like this 200+ days a year for the rest of his life.

Jimmy Page, in the 1990's, when asked by a guitar magazine interviewer the question - How has the music business changed over the years? – answered with several lines about Roy Orbison. Saying success was easier now then in the old days when " they worked poor Roy Orbison to death."

I haven't read the article in a long time. It made me cry. Still does. But it was amazing to me that he cared enough to lash out at the system in those words. For a Road Warrior like Jimmy Page to single my Dad out as an example of someone who worked themselves to death "on the road" seems quite an honor.

The Orbison set concludes with his latest single "Communication Breakdown" and then everybody's favorite . . . "Oh Pretty Woman"!

Although the songs are quite different, I have wondered about Zeppelins "Communication Breakdown" since I was 12 years old. My Dad wrote hundreds of songs. Of course many of the titles are general enough to have been used by others. So I thought it was just a funny coincidence. Until recently when I realized Jimmy saw this song performed over and over again, twice a night every night, only a year before using it as a title on Led Zeppelin 1. The drummer from the tour confirmed he heard Jimmy ask Dad permission to use the song title. In any case, Mr. Page certainly must have liked the title!

The title for Roy's song held the obvious meaning : a couple having problems communicating. 99 out of a hundred Zep fans hear the title with that meaning. But I believe the title for Zeppelin's song was probably a humorous reference, Breakdown being a play on titles like Flat & Scruggs song "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", where the word breakdown means "song". ( like Lemon Song, Rain Song, and the word Stomp elsewhere )

I have also always wondered about Beck's Bolero. ( which Jimmy played on and came up with) It sounds very little like Ravelle's "Bolero", and very much like Orbison's "Running Scared". I can hear this rhythmic influence in the "triplet" sections of many Zeppelin songs. (How Many More Times & Achilles Last Stand come to mind instantly, but there are more examples) If you can hear the connection I am making, you probably think this is a timeless musical rhythm. It is. But it is my father's variation of the rhythm that popularized it. Listen to "Running Scared" again. You will hear a song Jimmy absorbed thoroughly.

In 1985 Robert Plant and Roy Orbison crossed paths at Elvis' home Graceland. They were doing a photo shoot for LIFE MAGAZINE and spent a couple of days togetehr in Memphis. They got along great, exchanging home telephone 's wanting to stay in touch. Dad reported back to me that Robert was a very nice guy. He even humbled himself to ask for one of the only autographs he ever asked for. He knew how much it would mean to me and gave it to me as a present.

I know Roy really liked Jimmy Page too. He was pretty critical about most music, but always spoke well of Jimmy.

One of my fondest memories is of when I was 13 years old and had just started to love Led Zeppelin. I cranked the volume up really loud in my room. I mean really loud! It was the guitar bow part of one of the songs. I was trying to be rebellious and piss my Dad off.

He walks in and motions for me to turn it down. When I do, instead of being mad at me, he says "Is Jimmy Page in that band?" He had never heard Led Zeppelin before. I could not figure out how he knew that! It took me until last year to fully understand :

You cannot rebel against Roy Orbison with music.




Subject: Re: Images of Mike McCarty Taken By Robin Rainer For DOTHAN MAGAZINE



MAN! I love his work.
The abstracts are mufuggin fantastic!
Thanks for sharing, 'berto.



Ben Burford http://www.chevy6.com/songlist.html
DavisDenny Advertising & Related Services, Inc.
2545 Highland Ave.
Suite 102
Birmingham, AL 35205

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Images of Mike McCarty taken by Robin Rainer for the article entitled THE ART OF THE SOUND which was published in the July/August issue of DOTHAN MAGAZINE http://dothanmagazine.com/[any comments or descriptions pertaining to these images will be appreciated]








Mike McCarty with canvases used for album covers by Little Richard, Atlanta Rhythm Section & Patti Smith

Monday, October 15, 2007

Hey y'all:

You can't believe the number of stories I hear in person & on the phone that I never ever mention.
In fact, I do my best to tell my own stories & I sure want to encourage you to tell yours.

This one I received from Dusy Street's Frank Tanton just a second ago is an excellent example of what I'm talkin' 'bout:

In 1967 I played regularly at the infamous Doc Greenfield’s Club Capri, in the Baptist Bottom, in Dothan .
I played bass with “The Impacts” which featured Davie Coolie on keys, Wayne “Sugar” Johnson on Drums, Edward McNeal on guitar, and Lamar Spence on Lead Vocals.
We were the only white band playing there.
Local DJ, “Preston T” was our booking agent.
I guess we were quite a novelty back then, being so young and light skinned, but we could really play well, and we covered all the popular “Soul” tunes… The folks treated us very well there, and really seemed to enjoy our show… This always surprised me since, at least once a month, the Club Capri would feature the real thing such as Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett.

I also saw Ike & Tina Turner, and Joe Tex there.
That place was happenin'… Later on David Adkins and I played there with Billy King and the Rhythm Kings featuring Little Lois.
Unfortunately we didn’t last long… David and I played a lot of BB King , Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, etc., and some number of people there, didn’t like the straight blues…

Billy King once told me, “the black folk didn’t like straight ahead blues, because it reminded them of the bad old days”…

In truth, I think it may have been just a little too weird for some of them to witness a couple of young smartass white kids burnin' up the blues…

They loved it at the Little Wheels Club, at Ft. Rucker though…
I talked to Mitch Goodson tonight, and he said he would write down some of his recollections and share a few of his experiences with your readers... More to come...

Frank Tanton


Anything that's on your mind, write it down & send it to me.
If I like it, I'll push it.

Jeff Lemlich (a.k.a. Jeff Miami), the owner of Limestone Records http://limestonerecords.com
and author of SAVAGE LOST http://www.limestonerecords.com/website/author/authorBK.htm
has requested us to send him information about a Sixties band from Dothan called The Impacts.

To give you an idea of how sincere Jeff is about his work, I want you to read an email Jeff sent me about Tom Dowd and after you read that email, I want you to think twice before you decide not to write Jeff or me a story.

Best,
rr http://robertoreg.blogspot.com

Robert:

This photo was taken at the opening of the Historical Museum of Florida's tribute to our state's musical heritage. He remained a very articulate and opinionated man, one you could spend hours speaking with and still wish you had much more time.

Here's something I wrote after learning of Dowd's death back in October:

"You would think Tom Dowd's death would be front page news here in Miami, but since he didn't work with Whitney, Britney, or Shakira, I guess they consider him yesterday's news.

Damn this is sad. I really liked Tom. I hadn't seen him in 13 months. The last time was at the opening of the Historical Museum of South Florida's state music exhibit. He looked great, seemed to have a ton of energy, and was the center of attention for much of the evening. I always enjoyed talking to Tom, but it would be stretching it to say we were friends. I always looked up to him so much that I could never see myself as a peer. I always saw him as Mr. Dowd. Yeah I could have phoned him, and he would have taken my call, but it was always intimidating for me. Here's a guy who worked with most of the southern soul greats, and I am only writing, and only able to comprehend after-the-fact something so vast and gigantic and magnificent that my comprehension would never be enough.

Tom Dowd liked to tell stories. My favorite is the "Dusty In Memphis" saga, a grand battle of egos, of immovable forces that slowly moved and met each other a bit at a time, cutting through tension, cutting through layers of emotions until what was left was so wonderously epic that the results had to be part accident, which they were. Here came a lady who wanted to sing Randy Newman, Mann-Weil, and King-Goffin songs, walking into the heart of southern soul music, with some of the best southern soul musicians you'd ever hope to find... and each was in awe of the other's talent, yet not willing to lose sight of their individual visions. So the southern soul players lent their chops to Brill Building tunes (not unprecedented, after Aretha tore through Goffin-King's "A Natural Woman"), and Dusty sang Eddie Hinton, Donnie Fritts, Tony Joe White, and Wilkins-Hurley songs, when she wasn't spacing out and refusing to sing for weeks. And then there was "Windmills of Your Mind", a movie theme in the mold of Dusty's earlier movie theme "The Look Of Love", saved from MOR blandness by Dowd, Mardin, and company, but not before the trainwreck crashed into the studio walls and forced the engineers to speed up and slow down tapes and manipulate those tracks, and yet... yet.... the results were powerful, sultry, soulful, and psychedelic!!... providing for the ultimate climax song on the ultimate have-sex-while-this-plays album! When Aretha heard Dusty's version of "Son of a Preacher Man", she stood gobsmacked at how this white woman from across the seas just nailed it. And yes, Aretha soon covered it! And the whole time Tom Dowd is beating his head against the wall, wondering what a disaster this big-budget record was going to be, when all the while the tension was seeping through into something magical. Still, in Dowd's mind, it was the most difficult album he'd ever been involved in.

Sam Moore, from Paris, was "crestfallen" at the news. He spoke to Dowd just this past Thursday.

The official cause of death is respiratory failure. Tom Dowd was 77."

Jeff Lemlich
October 29, 2002

http://www.limestonerecords.com


Many thanks to BamaQueen for the link http://www.comcast.net/news/strange/index.jsp?cat=STRANGE&fn=/2007/10/15/788337.html

An 844-pound mako shark hangs from the scales at the Destin Fishing Rodeo in Destin, Fla.,Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007. The11-foot shark was hauled in by angler Adlee Bruner of Bruce, Fla and once gutted, it tipped the scales at 638 pounds, breaking the tournament's previous shark division record by 338 pounds. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily, William Hatfield)



Hey y'all:

Jeff Miami of http://limestonerecords.com
needs any info you might have on this group.

All I've got is this from Burke:

I just got off the phone with Mitch Goodson. He is going to drop by the
shop and I'll get Frank Tanton, Doug and David Morris, David Adkins and
Jimmy Dean's brother Robert Dean, who booked all of us during this period,
over and if we can hold it in the road long enough we'll try to get some
straight info, well, we'll have straight info until a wheel runs off. Mitch
has been disabled for some time now but brought up his working for three
different owners at the Old Dutch. His parents would take him to work there
when he was fifteen. He said Lamar Spence of the Impacts helped him get in,
The Impacts, there's a flash from the past. Mitch also had two recordings
make the Billboard Top 100.
best,
rr

TO MY FELLOW "PANTY-MAW CITY BEACH in the SIXTIES" CONSULTANTS:
Received the following email from Neal Rose seeking photos of THE IMPACTS from the '67 National Peanut Festival.
Any response will be appreciated but some of you knuckleheads who still live down in NutPatch need to go over to the Goober Festival office and check out their archives. Same goes for TVY, AGF, WOOF and The Eagle.
Anybody heard from Preston T lately and how 'bout Mitch and Lamar and HOW 'BOUT more stuff about the CHIMES, Mar Teks, The Kapers and The Concrete Bubble.
best,
reg http://robertoreg.blogspot.com

http://robertoreg.blogspot.com/2004_09_05_robertoreg_archive.html
saw you mentioned the Impacts and Lamar Spence on the above page. I played bass for the Impacts in 1967 when they played at the peanut festival with the Sons of Bach and the Hombres. Do you know anyone that has pictures of the Impacts then?

I also saw where Frank Tanton sent you an email about playing at the Capri club, do you have an email for him? we did cross paths and I did play with the Impacts at the Capri club several times at the bass.
thanks
Neil Rose


{Richard Burke's Original Post on the "Cuba, Alabama" weblog}
I think Little Lois, Lois Johnson, I think, of Little Lois and the Capri's
still lives here. She did backing vocals on my recordings with Clique in
75. Jay Scott from Dothan also needs citing for his work with Alicia
Bridges
(I like the Night Life),
Beeverteeth and Clique during this period. He was a great saxaphonist and Latin Percissionist.
I just got off the phone with Mitch Goodson. He is going to drop by the
shop and I'll get Frank Tanton, Doug and David Morris, David Adkins and Jimmy Dean's brother Robert Dean, who booked all of us during this period, over and if we can hold it in the road long enough we'll try to get some
straight info, well, we'll have straight info until a wheel runs off. Mitch
has been disabled for some time now but brought up his working for three
different owners
at the Old Dutch. His parents would take him to work there
when he was fifteen. He said Lamar Spence of the Impacts helped him get in,
The Impacts, there's a flash from the past.
rbiii
Biography of THE HOMBRES
Formed in Memphis in 1966, the Hombres - Gary Wayne McEwen (guitar), B.B. Cunningham (organ) the brother of Bill Cunningham of the Boxtops, Jerry Lee Masters (bass) and John Will Hunter (d. 1976; drums) - originally served as a touring version of Ronny And The Daytonas, whose leader, John "Bucky" Wilkin, did not like to tour. While in Houston, the group met Shelby Singleton who introduced them to producer Huey P. Meaux, who agreed to record them. They wrote "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)", a rambling, funky shuffle, on the way to the session. Lyrically patterned after Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues", the single was issued on Verve/Forecast the following year and rose to number 12 in the US charts. The group had no further hits.

Discography:
Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) (Verve/Forecast 1967)**.


Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)
THE HOMBRES
(Bill Cunningham)

(spoken): "A preachment, dear friends, you are about to receive
on John Barleycorn, nicotine, and the temptations of Eve"

(Bronx cheer)

No parkin' by the sewer sign
Hot dog, my razor's broke
Water drippin' up the spout
But I don't care, let it all hang out

Hangin' from a pine tree by my knees
Sun is shinin' through the shade
Nobody knows what it's all about,
It's too much, man, let it all hang out

Saw a man walkin' upside down
My T.V.'s on the blink
Made Galileo look like a Boy Scout
Sorry 'bout that, let it all hang out

Sleep all day, drive all night
Brain my numb, can't stop now
For sure ain't no doubt
Keep an open mind, let it all hang out

It's rainin' inside a big brown moon
How does that mess you baby up, leg
Eatin' a Reuben sandwich with sauerkraut
Don't stop now, baby, let it all hang out

Let it all hang out (harmonized) [repeat to fade]

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The Beaugators http://www.myspace.com/thebeaugators
have tuned up a new myspace site that's got some blues goin' on like a chicken bone.
Please check out my Dothan buddies' music...

image courtesy of http://www.myspace.com/thebeaugators

Unfortunately the first images of our present real estate nightmare/meltdown
came this month when two B'ham area homebuilders closed their doors & told their customers to go get somebody else to finish their houses.

Due to the miracle of the Internet, these builders are still alive & well in cyberspace.

Check out the Vintage Homes website. Vintage Homes don't exist but they website do...
http://www.buildingvintagehomes.com/about-vintage.php

Carroll & Green Group experienced 216 per cent growth in 2005 & 266 per cent growth in 2006 so here's this company with $32 million in revenue but they had to close their doors October 3.
Carroll & Green President and CEO Lee Carroll told the B'ham News that the company will work with owners to put them in touch with subcontractors and vendors so that unfinished projects can be completed.

But on the Internet, Carroll & Green is still going strong...
http://www.cggroupinc.com/cggroupinc-birminghamllc/default.aspx

Here's what the B'ham Business Journal said about Carroll & Green back in March of this year under the headline CARROLL & GREEN GROUP REPEAT AT THE TOP...

FROM http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2007/04/02/focus2.html?jst=s_cn_hl

The Carroll & Green Group’s Lee Carroll and David Green at their Abby Road project on Birmingham’s Southside.



It's an industry where having a good reputation and tradition is paramount and some of the giants have been around for generations.

That's why Carroll and Green are happy that their contracting firm has been able to experience so much growth in such a short period of time.

In just five years, the Carroll and Green Group has seen its revenue grow from a little over $1 million to over $32 million. The company's revenue jumped 212 percent from 2005 to 2006, after posting an increase of 266 percent the previous year. The company has topped the Birmingham Business Journal's annual FastTrack 25 list in the midsize category for two consecutive years.

"We've come a long way since 2002," Carroll, the company's CEO, said. "We've been blessed with good projects."


& closer to home...
the cancelled 2300 Bryant Drive Condominiums at the corner of Greensboro and Bryant Drive in Tuscaloosa still lives on in web archives even though the 2300BryantDrive website has been shut down...

Welcome to Downtown’s Most Prestigious New Address! Situated prominently at the intersection of life and luxury, 2300 Bryant Drive is THE place to live in Downtown Tuscaloosa. Whether it’s the on-site shopping, dining, and entertainment that occupy your time, or the early mornings and lazy afternoons on your private balcony, there is always something…or nothing…to do. With its location within the Tuscaloosa Urban Renewal Project, 2300 Bryant Drive is only an elevator ride away from all that downtown has to offer. A short walk can find you at the Black Warrior River, the new two-block federal park, the Central Business District, Bryant-Denny Stadium, or several of the areas largest places of worship. Further, an evening stroll through the majestic Historic District is never far from reach.

Every detail of 2300 Bryant Drive has been designed with downtown living in mind. A private parking deck provides easily accessible spaces for those rare days when you actually feel like driving again. Exterior finishes and architectural elements have been drawn from the buildings that mark the downtown that we all know. Internally, high ceilings and hardwood floors in the living areas lead directly to your private view of downtown.

Come see what the future holds. Start your new life in old downtown.

Thanks Robert,
Mike (as I guess you found out) is a really nice, and interesting guy.
I'm looking forward to speaking with him after MANY years.

Rodney


I went to school with Mike …Buie’s bro Jerry was pretty tite with him for years and

Most likely still is…sounds like one good time…go bama

H



RR......I envy you being able to go to Mike McCarty's show in Birmingham. Gloria and I were in Stowe, Vermont
digging the fall colors. We had a blast but hated missing Mike's show.

I miss those days when he and I were brain-storming
album covers for ARS.
He would take my album titles and turn them into works of art.
We ran record executives crazy because I was always
late delivering the music and he was constantly late with the artwork.

I think we secretly liked the fact that the head of a big record
was begging us to deliver and we were in control. Possession is nine tenths of the law.

I hope the show was a success because Mike deserves to be recognized for the genius he is.
BB



BB:

You missed a good time and a SUPAH One Man Show.
I mean you couldn't even look at the other junk they had on the wall after you looked at Mike's stuff.

Here's my Vermont story.
I used to stay in Burlington a lot back in the day when I was in the sweater business.
Worked the shops downtown & the sorority houses at the university.
I stayed out in Smuggler's Notch near Stowe one time on a July 4 holiday but here's the story.

Scott Gellerstedt & I saw that this Army-Navy store in Burlington had a special on blue jeans so we went in and bought a few pairs.
We were waiting in line at the cash register talking to each other & when it got to be our turn to pay, the cashier said,"You guys are from Dothan, Alabama, aren't you?"

We were both shocked & in awe.
Seems that the cashier who was also the store's owner had been stationed at Rucker & that's why he recognized our accent.
He said Dothan accents were different because they were definitely Southern accents but the Yankee influence from Florida & Rort Fucker had clipped our speech enough that we didn't sound real redneck.
kewl, huh.

Did you get to go to Fort Ticonderoga? Don't ever miss an opportunity to see that along with Ft. Niagara near Niagara Falls.
Don't even waste your time visiting Syracuse. It's about the ugliest campus in this entire country.

Gellerstedt tried to throw me off of Niagara Falls so I had to bow up on him.
The other day he was harassing me about something & I told him, "Yeah, boy, you grab on to me & you grabbed on TO A MAN!!!!"

"I know," he replied,"I remember trying to throw you over Niagara Falls and it was like trying to pick up the corner of that service station over there."

best,
rr