R.I.P. Rickey

Posted on December 22, 2024 by Double K

A repost from two years ago in honor of the greatest leadoff hitter in MLB history…

“I’ve Been Caught Stealing”

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Double K

“Once when I was five.” – Jane’s Addiction

Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell was apparently caught stealing once when he was five. Big. Deal. There was a man who was a master when it came to getting caught. In fact, he was caught stealing 334 more times than Farrell! His name is Rickey Henderson.

“People say I stole a lot of bases. I stole bases for a reason. I crossed the plate.” – Rickey Henderson

I was a big fan of those late 80’s/early 90’s Oakland A’s teams and I loved watching the all-time king of thefts swipe bags and hit bombs. But I am ashamed to admit that I traded Rickey Henderson. Twice. It was early 1984, and judging by the photo above, Jane’s Addiction is disgusted with what I did too. Obviously, I didn’t trade Rickey literally, but in the world of sports card trading instead. I was 12 and we were still a few years away from “The Bash Brothers” (unless you consider Dave Kingman and Dwayne Murphy the ’84 version), and the dominating run of the Oakland A’s when I dealt away TWO perfectly fine 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie cards.

The 1980 Rickey Henderson rookie card.

The handful of magic beans I received that day for my two Hendersons is still a hazy memory, and I’m probably better for that fact. I would like to think I received something of equal or better value that day, but the memory of my friend Tim showing one of our friends the value of the Henderson cards in my Beckett Price Guide after our trade that day leads me to believe I was probably suckered by a few later year Bobby Murcer or Rod Carew cards (two of “my guys” back in 1984; Carew because he was a future Hall of Fame hitting machine, Murcer because I had his autograph and he was a native Oklahoman like myself). Whatever the transaction, I am almost positive I was on the losing end of it then and now.

My actual official price guide from 1984 still in my possession.
Back in 1984, the Henderson cards were worth $3-$5 each, which is practically a thousand dollars when you’re 12.

By 1984 Henderson was about four seasons into his major league career. Prince and Tina Turner were blowing up the charts and “Ghostbusters” and “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom” were leading the way at the box office. Henderson was a young rising star then, but we didn’t really know how bright his star would shine or how his career would finish. We do now. He finished as the all-time leader in steals (1,406), runs (2,295), and leadoff home runs (81). His rookie card is now worth in upwards of $400 in mint condition – a mere 9,900% increase (approximately). Rickey was a 10 time all-star, two-time World Series champion, and is widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of baseball, and also one of the greatest to ever refer to himself in the third person.

“Rickey was never motivated by stats. He was motivated by numbers. Wins, runs, steals.” – Rickey Henderson

Rickey stole his first base ever in his first game in the big leagues on June 24, 1979 off of the Texas Rangers’ battery of John Henry Johnson and Jim Sundberg. And it would be in just Rickey’s third game on June 26, 1979 when Paul Splitteroff of the Kansas City Royals picked him off from second base marking the first official caught stealing of Rickey’s 24-season, nine-team major league career.

And thus, began Rickey’s long illustrious career of being caught stealing.

“Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.” – Rickey Henderson

(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

“Hey all right! If I get by, it’s mine. Mine all mine!”

As I referenced at the beginning of this post, the opening line of this classic song is grounded in fact as Jane’s Addiction lead singer Perry Farrell was caught trying to steal a rubber bouncy ball called a Pennsy Pinky at a local candy store in Queens back in the mid 60’s when Perry was just a young pup.

Farrell’s story reminded me of a time when I was also about five myself in the mid 70’s in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I was an enrollee of Mrs. Collins’ Kiddie College preschool, and there was a boy that convinced me to sneak into the front hallway where all of the coats were hung. He proceeded to start checking the coat jacket pockets so I did the same thing and I remember my little fingers grasping onto a Hot Wheels car that he and I took turns playing with. Crime pays! I don’t remember getting caught but thankfully my moral compass pointed me away from a life of kleptomania. Thus, a life of stealing or getting caught was not in the cards for me.

“When I want something,
I don’t want to pay for it
I walk right through the door. Walk right through the door.”

Formed in 1985, Jane’s Addiction is regarded as one of the early frontrunners for 90’s alternative rock bands. Drugs and dissent tore this volatile group apart shortly after their most well known hit captured the hearts and minds of rebellious youth in 1990. With Farrell’s dog Annie barking out the intro, here is Jane’s Addiction and their Modern Rock Chart #1 hit from 1990, “Been Caught Stealing”…

If Rickey Henderson owns this song just remember: “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has cds.“

Thanks for reading, and remember thou shalt not steal… unless you’re Rickey Henderson.

sincerely,

the 80’s

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“Look in the Mirror”

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Double K

“And you see how you’ve been taken
You won’t surrender
But now your heart is breakin’.” – John Waite

There’s a poignant scene in the 1989 holiday classic “Christmas Vacation” where Clark gets locked in the attic while the rest of the family goes to town. While in the attic, he becomes misty-eyed watching old videos of days gone by as Ray Charles provides a beautiful backdrop with his overlooked 1985 song “The Spirit of Christmas.” Clark is of course watching videos on an old reel to reel projector and reflecting upon simpler times from nearly 30 years ago from when his parents and grandparents were younger and Clark, just a boy in 1955, wanted nothing more but to play with his sled in the snow and examine the contents of his presents under the tree.

In a movie known mostly for its outlandishness, it’s a quiet, soft, wonderful moment in the movie. I was Clark Griswold recently only I wasn’t trapped in an attic bundled in ridiculous attire to stay warm, but instead I was seated in a fold-out camping chair in my garage, aka my makeshift video studio. Over the past several months I have been converting old VHS tapes to digital. I think twenty something years of lugging around boxes and tubs full of old VHS tapes is long enough. My back surely thinks so. In one corner of my garage, I have an old television, a combo VHS/DVD player, and an old Macbook Air loaded with conversion software that transfers the physical video to digital. As I convert one VHS tape to digital, I toss the old VHS tape into the trashcan nearby. I admit though, it is difficult to let that physical piece of history go. Even though I’ve preserved it onto digital medium, a little part of me feels the past slipping away with every tape that gets thrown into its’ new forever home destined for a city dump somewhere.

So as the late Sunday sun was setting and darkness was taking hold inside the garage, I sat misty-eyed watching an old VHS tape slowly come to life featuring my wife and daughter and myself 23 years younger. There were scores of cameos from friends, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandpas, and grandmas which made it all the more endearing and meaningful as the grandparents are no longer with us. The year of our Lord 2001 mine as well have been 53 years ago instead of 23.

“Do you remember
When you got your lucky break
You’re looking back now
And it seems like a mistake”

And John Waite singing “Change” in 1982 mine as well have been a million years ago…

The one constant through the years has been baseball. No, Ray, actually the one constant through the years has been change. It doesn’t matter who you are. And I’m thankful for that. I love change… quarters, nickels, dimes… hey-oh! (pause for laughter). Seriously though, who wants to be stuck in a time and age never to grow or change? The irony of this little blog is that it may seem to be stuck in an era of big hair, neon colors, and music that never dies but it’s also an ode, a tribute to the passing of time and to that change within us all no matter the difficulty or circumstance that may have proceeded it.

I was watching another old VHS tape a few days earlier. This one was from 1988 and it was nearly Christmas in our household in Norman, Oklahoma. It was an evening where it was only my dad, mom, sister, and myself (oh, and our dog Krissy). I watched as we hung lights and ornaments on the tree in our living room all carefully orchestrated by our mom. I watched as I sat on top of my struggling sister laying on the couch as every big brother must do at least once a year. I watched as her and I frustratingly tried to tell my dad how to work the video recorder that he was using (“Dad, there’s a button that you can push for the time and date, you don’t have to say it outloud!”) Then, I watched as my sister and I sat side by side reading Luke 2 from The Bible (as was always custom at Christmas growing up). I also watched in sadness and shame as my sister (just weeks shy of turning ten years old) mispronounced the word “espoused” (meaning engaged) in Luke 2:5 where it says Joseph was to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. Instead, my sister said his “exposed” wife, which to be fair was pretty funny, and so we all laughed. Except her. My sister cried. She was embarrassed. She was hurt. I took The Bible from her and continued reading while my sister quietly wiped the tears from her face all preserved by my dad’s filming onto a 36 year old VHS tape. Watching that moment unfold, I felt embarrassment and shame but not for her, but for myself. An older, wiser, changed brother that could travel back in time would have put his arm around her and told her it was ok, that I was proud of her for reading the greatest birth story ever, and that I love her and we all make mistakes. Who ever uses the word “espoused” anyway? Why didn’t King James just say “engaged?” Then, when the tears started to dry up, I would have told her that the story could have taken a very dramatic turn though were Mary riding into Bethlehem exposed on the back of a donkey. We would have laughed together then, and continued on.

The feelings of guilt, shame, and insignificance are woven throughout the whole birth story though when you think about it closely, verse after verse. They are not exclusive feelings for just you and I to take ownership of and display like some sort of twisted crown of grief won through competition. No, they were the same feelings a pregnant virgin teenager must have had upon miraculously being conceived with child before being wed to her man, Joseph. The same thoughts and feelings this young couple of teenagers fleeing Nazareth must have had, riding on a donkey and carrying the Messiah who will one day save the world. Just for fun, where did God have them for the birth of a King? A comfortable bed in a warm, well-lit inn with attendants by their sides. No, in a stable, a cave, an old wooden shack, whatever imagery you like, the fact was they weren’t staying in a Holiday Inn Express. All was planned accordingly and foretold, but it had to all be beyond the scope of Mary and Joseph’s human minds. As a man, I think immediately about Joseph. Can you imagine Joseph’s thoughts? The King of all Kings is being born right now… in this place? Really? As a father myself, a provider, a protector, I would definitely have thoughts of shame and embarrassment at this scenario if it were me. Nowhere does it mention this is what Joseph thought, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that these thoughts crossed his mind a time or two. After all, he too was like us – a fallible human father with limited understanding.

“We always wish for money
We always wish for fame
We think we have the answers”

It’s so easy to think we have the answers, and sometimes we do, but sometimes our answers change as we grow. And hopefully those answers lead us to change for the better especially in a time and age where it seems everyone has an answer for everything – answers mostly on how “to improve things”… your health, your wallet, your home, your work, yourself. It is so easy to become cynical and bitter in our world today when people fail us, because people are not perfect. And the imperfections and the failings and the triumphs and the successes will change us because life commands it of us. But please don’t let events from 1988 or 2008 or 2020 continue to bring upon you crashing waves of guilt or shame. Treat them like an unwanted Christmas gift – please return to sender. It’s too easy, especially this time of year, to pick up that shame, that embarrassment, that feeling of insignificance and lug it around with you. Remember, those events have helped shape you and who you are today, but guilt and shame are not meant as burdens to be carried throughout life like a box of VHS tapes or better yet like a heavy old wooden cross. No, they are meant to be carried to the cross and left there.

“Some things ain’t ever gonna change (change)”

You and I will change mentally, emotionally, physically (I’ve got to stop eating the green and red Christmas M&M’s!), but I am also glad that there are some things that “ain’t ever gonna change” like this music video. This wonderfully, corny video was in heavy rotation on MTV upon its’ release, and features then actress/model Tina Gullickson in a leading role and carrying a bit of a cocaine habit apparently. Those of you with a love of Jimmy Buffet may recognize or know her as a long time singer (since 1995) in Jimmy’s band “The Coral Reefers.”

From 1982 (and also again in 1985 from the “Vision Quest” soundtrack), a song that peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, this is former Babys lead singer John Waite (make sure you make it to the end of the video for “the big reveal”) carrying us through “Change”…

Thanks for reading. Thanks for being you. And Merry Christmas.

sincerely,

the80s

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“We’re Soul Alone”

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Double K

“And soul really matters to me.” – Darryl Hall & John Oates

Too much.

Some people, some words just tap into your inner soul like a long lost relative grabbing hold and refusing to let go. Somewhere, maybe a place you’ve long forgotten about, screams “thank you” as an inspiring voice triggers happy endorphins within your brain that rise through your veins at the very prospect of releasing words hidden out of sight perhaps in a barricaded box under lock and key.

Geez, I don’t know where that paragraph came from. Perhaps it came from the reading I’ve been doing lately – interesting books, news sites, sports and entertainment blogs, and Americana travel pieces (check out A.M. Hickman’s “Falling Back in Love With America” project if you like well-written Americana travel pieces). Maybe it’s a cocktail of the former with a splash of the nonsensical lyrics of my favorite 80’s duo, Darryl Hall and John Oates. Or it could also be that it’s just the holiday season with the lights and the decorations and the sounds that open up wormholes of creativity that have been closed since January.

Whatever the case…

Manic moves and drowsy dreams
Or living in the middle between the two extremes

As my wife and I meandered through downtown Springdale, Arkansas, I thought about the extremes of the city we’ve called home for over 20 years now. Springdale is now a city on the verge of 90,000 and the signs of progress and commercialization were everywhere. Literally. “Pictures with Santa,” “Christmas on the Creek,” “Free Pony Rides,” “Hot Cocoa,” “Train Rides,” “25% Off Sales!” Commercialization for holidays continues to grow like that potato vine you planted to occupy a few square feet in a bed but has now grown over the bed and threatens to take way more space than you originally planned. I may or may not have experience in this particular department.

Originally called Shiloh, around 1838, Springdale became Springdale in 1878 once it was incorporated by Washington County. Soon after progress followed with roads and a railway following the Civil War. The roads paved the way for numerous trucking companies including Springdale-based Harvey Jones’ Jones Truck Lines. Willis Shaw, Joe Robinson, and JB Hunt followed suit in the NW Arkansas region in the years after. Agriculture with apple and peach orchards were an important part of growth in the area as well as poultry when CL George and his sons began transporting live chickens to Kansas City and St. Louis around 1929 before expanding into the chicken feed business 10 years later. Missouri native John Tyson saw the potential in NW Arkansas and moved his family to Springdale in 1931 where he started delivering chickens to larger markets in Missouri. Tyson Foods is now one of the largest processor and marketers of chicken, beef, and pork in the world.

Classic Christmas music was ringing and children were singing… or maybe they were just playing in the creek in their matching pajamas after getting their photo taken with St. Nick, because it doesn’t get much better than playing in water when you’re a kid.

The holidays can be difficult for many, but I’d surely encourage you to get out to your local establishments, your favorite park, or maybe just drive around and look at the lights in the warmth of your vehicle. Soak in that Christmas spirit even if you do it begrudgingly. You’ll be better for it. Appreciate the decorations, the lights, the music… let it exist in and around you and take some time to reflect on where you are, where you want to go, what your community is about, and how you can make this season better for someone else, because I guarantee you someone you know is having it worse than you are right now. Make it better for someone else like I’m making this post better for you by ending it and giving you another classic 80’s tune below.

A very Merry Christmas season to you all.

Broken ice still melts in the sun
And times that are broken can often be one again

From the “Big Bam Boom” album, here is the number one song on this week 40 years ago, which was also the duo’s last #1 hit. I’ve always been a big fan of John Oates and his vocals on the word “time” throughout the song. Just something about seeing him chime in with “time” on this song always makes me smile. Here is the Philly duo, Hall & Oates with another 80’s classic, “Out of Touch.”

Thanks for reading.

sincerely,

the80s

Luke 2:11

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“I’m On My Way”

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Double K

“I’m on my way. Home, sweet home.” – Motley Crue

photo by Ross Marino, 1985

“I had to run away high, so I wouldn’t come home low.”

With the holidays upon us, much will be made in the coming weeks about the word “home.” You’ll hear it all the time, everywhere. It will come up in conversation with friends and neighbors and co-workers. You’ll see it and hear it with every sappy Hallmark Christmas movie you watch or don’t watch depending upon your stance regarding such movies. You’ll hear “home” sung about over holiday-themed speakers in restaurants and retail shops everywhere you go… “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” “Christmas, Please Come Home,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Home is everywhere and yet, home is nowhere. Home tends to meander through life like a chameleon blending into whatever surroundings the time and season dictate. Do we even know where or what home is anymore?

Growing up, home was pretty easily defined for me as where mom and dad and my sister were, in whatever house we occupied. Home also meant grandma’s house for holidays because that was home for mom. As I aged, home became the place where I grew up the most – the formative years shall we say from 8th grade through high school. Then, home became where the jobs took me, becoming at times a conflicting mirage of towns and cities of where my parents lived and the places I where I lived. Homes from the past changed, faded, and became distant memories. Then one day, home becomes a spouse and a child and before you know it, 22 years has passed and you’re left wondering how this particular place, this house, became your home and you’re left pondering how quickly it has all passed.

But alas, times change, homes change, we grow older, softer. After all, we are but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. Music does the same. It grows older and softer yet it remains long after our physical bodies. Maybe that’s the appeal of being a musician. Maybe that’s the appeal of being a writer. The leaving of a legacy through music, through word. Something “permanent,” whatever that means. What was once “loud” or “hard” or “dangerous” listening in 1985 doesn’t hold much the same punch in 2024. Kind of like Mike Tyson’s punch in his recent fight against Jake Paul. “Iron” Mike looked older, softer, less dangerous. No longer the baddest man on the planet, much like music, his punches didn’t land with the same power, the same ferocity as they did in 1985. And why should they? Why did we even have expectations of such? Time is always the true champion.

And, this seems like the appropriate time in this post to pause for a non-paid commercial break…

First of all, that is one bad ass Canadian Goose! Audi is appealing to me with this commercial (though my wife really wants a Tesla). And did you catch the tag line – “There’s no place like the road home.” The road home.

As a profession, I work at a bank, and have been at the same bank for 11+ years now. We have one of those subscription music services that plays over our speaker system in the bank lobby and throughout the offices. The music is intended as background noise to help provide a little privacy to customers conducting business or to employees on phone calls. The musical choices change on occasion. There may be country music for a few weeks or Christmas music during the holiday season. Many times though we’re playing non-threatening, safe-for-work “oldies”music… you guessed it… 80’s music!

Occasionally, I’ll walk out of my office, shake my head in mock disgust and say something like “you know you’re getting old when Def Leppard is playing in the lobby.” Sometimes I’ll time my entrance into the lobby just so I can play the air drums to Phil Collins “In the Air” and sometimes I’ll walk out and announce to the punk twenty-somethings (if you’re reading this, you’re not really punks) I work with and say something like “a million dollars if you know who’s singing this song right now!” I haven’t lost a million dollars I don’t own yet. They never know unless on the rare occasion when their mom or dad made them listen to it when they were really young. I do have one co-worker though whose mom has been to somewhere around 20 Rolling Stones shows, so that’s cool, and she knows her Stones’ music. But, groups like Poison, RATT, Bon Jovi, or Motley Crue. These kids, they don’t know.

Of course these artists and these songs are happening more often in commercials as demonstrated above with The Crue providing a soundtrack for Audi. Honestly though, it could have been a commercial to legalize heroin and I still would have been like “yeah!” That’s how much I love this particular song. It’s on every favorites playlist I have that contains 80’s music. Maybe it’s the commonality of longing for “home.” Maybe the song taps on my heart strings like Tommy tapping gently on the ivory keys making my only want is for these pillars of rock and roll to make it home to loving embraces from family and friends after months of months of a grueling tour schedule. Maybe it’s just because I see the music video in my head every time I hear the song, and I love the music video almost as much as I love the song.

“Just take this song, and you’ll never feel left all alone.”

And I do so love the video. Scoff if you will, but the time lapses of the bus rolling down the highway and the “Theatre of Pain” tour set going up, Vince Neil kissing the posters pre-show, Tommy’s stick twirls, Nikki’s beckoning finger, Mick’s steady guitar, and of course, the slow motion crowd and concert shots – the screaming, the singing along, the girls running on and practically crawling onto stage only to be hauled off by security. And of course, the girl on the shoulders of her boyfriend at the 2;24 mark. If you know, you know. As a 14 year old in 1985, I watched this video in anticipation that just maybe one time someone at MTV would slip in an unedited version of the video late some night when no one was suspecting, and I would be a vigilant benefactor. They never did. I do wonder if the girls in the video are still out there, somewhere in their own homes occasionally watching this video from nearly 40 years ago smiling to themselves while their children and/or grandchildren shake their heads in bewilderment giggling and laughing at the silliness of it all as they watch mom or grandma forever immortalized in the best power ballad song and video of all time.

In an utter travesty, much like Vince Neil’s pink tiger-striped spandex in the video, today’s song barely cracked the top 100 in 1985 on the first go round of its’ release, but then managed to crawl to #37 the second time around when it was remixed and re-released in 1991. Still, the music industry should be ashamed. Heck, a cover version by well renowned hair metal fan Carrie Underwood hit #21 on the Billboard charts in 2009, and then another version which was a duet between country music singer Justin Moore and the Crue’s Neil peaked at #28 on the hot country single charts in 2014. The Crue had to go country to break into the top 30 with this song. Blasphemous!

Directed by Wayne Isham, and featuring now 76 year old actor Michael Berryman in the albeit unnecessary opening scenes of the video (he also appeared in The Crue’s “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” video), here is Vince, Tommy, Nikki, and Mick with a video that topped MTV’s daily request chart for over three months. Here is Motley Crue with their last song to crack the top 40, “Home Sweet Home”…

Thanks for reading, and may your home be wherever you are this holiday season.

sincerely,

the80’s

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“Everyday, the Game is Ours to Play”

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Double K

“Oh tell me why, there are no alibis.” – Sammy Hagar

I have a new favorite New York Yankees’ baseball player.

He’s no relation to Sammy Hager, and trust me, I don’t like using the words “favorite” and “Yankees” in the same sentence together either. I’ve never been a fan of the Bronx Bombers, but today I will make an exception for one solitary player in pinstripes. With no apologies whatsoever to those of you who want to hail Aaron Judge or love robo-pitcher Gerrit Cole or are mesmerized by the bulging biceps of Giancarlo Stanton, my favorite Yankee is a six-foot-four slender, sidewinding southpaw pitcher named Tim Hill.

Who?

If you’re a Yankees fan, then you know. If you don’t, Hill is a middle innings to late innings reliever the Yankees deploy for an inning or so in tight games, many times to face tough opposing left handed hitters. But the toughest left handed hitters don’t compare to the nasty heater the game of life has already thrown at Tim Hill. The toughest left handed hitters don’t hit as hard as cancer, and Hill knows. Losing a father at any age is tough, and Hill lost his father to colon cancer when he was only 17.

Tim Hill was a decent baseball player, and I use the word “decent” because his best scholarship offer to play after pitching for Granada Hills Charter High School in Los Angeles was Palomar Community College in San Marcos. Not exactly SEC baseball. He only played at PCC one year before bouncing to another junior college in Colorado. That short stint didn’t work out and he found himself back home and working for a local moving company before being persuaded to take another stab at baseball.

He joined Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma for two seasons where he pitched admirably enough earning NAIA All-American honorable mention. It was good enough to draw the attention of the Kansas City Royals, who drafted him in 2014 with the 963rd pick in the 32nd round. The MLB draft is now only 20 rounds if that tells you anything. At 25 years of age, Hill was the oldest player selected in the first year player draft so not much was expected of him, and just a short time later Hill was dealt another blow.

Nine months after being drafted, and nine years after his father had passed, Tim Hill was diagnosed with colon cancer.

The doctors removed half of his colon and put him on eight months of chemo. By the time he had completed eight months, the six foot four Hill had dropped to 150 pounds. He was given a clean bill of health in January 2016 and began working himself back into baseball shape. He gained 65 pounds in two and a half months and was back in minor league camp a year after his diagnosis.

In 2016 and 2017, he spent good chunks of time with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, a AA affiliate of the Royals located about five miles from my house in Springdale, Arkansas. There’s a good chance I even saw Tim Hill pitch at some point during one of those seasons, but I don’t specifically remember him. He earned a spot on the Royals’ 40 man roster in November of 2017 which earned an auto invite to spring training. Hill made the Royals major league opening day roster and promptly made an inauspicious debut with the Royals on opening day, March 29, 2018, by hitting the first batter he ever faced in the major leagues, the Chicago White Sox’ Leury Garcia.

From there, Hill was traded to the San Diego Padres in July of 2020. Hill became a free agent in 2023 and signed a one year deal with the White Sox before being released on June 18th this season following a 5.87 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 23 innings. Two days later the Yankees signed him, and four months later Hill may be the surprise of a shaky Yankees relief staff that has done just enough (as of this writing) to put them on the verge of a trip to the World Series. A career 3.99 ERA pitcher, Hill’s ERA is a career-best 2.05 over 44 innings pitched since joining the Yankees.

Whether he’s pitching over his head right now, or he’s just figuring things out in a Yankees uniform, one thing has become apparently true to me. Where can I get a Tim Hill jersey?


“Winner takes it all
‘Til he breaks the fall
In time, he’ll make it over the top”

In 1987, Giorgio Moroder was hired to be the music supervisor of a Sylvester Stallone movie called “Over the Top.”

The phrase “over the top” refers to an arm wrestling technique used to gain leverage against your opponent. It’s also a term for a traditional baseball pitcher who’s mechanics of throwing a baseball are sometimes referred to as throwing over the top. Tim Hill is not your traditional pitcher. Tim Hill is not your traditional baseball player. He’s a sidewinder, a submarine style pitcher. A pitcher that releases the ball at a point and angle many players are not accustomed to seeing, because there aren’t many big league pitchers that throw like he does. Hill doesn’t run a triple digit fastball by hitters. In fact, he has a very average to below average fastball usually topping out in the low 90’s. He has some good breaking balls, but more than anything he’s fun to watch and he’s fun to cheer for.

“Hey
You listen when I say
There’s a dream
Oh, that’s coming true today, yeah”

Moroder offered today’s song to then Van Halen lead singer Sammy Hagar after original choice, Asia’s John Wetton didn’t sound “mean enough” when he sang it. The song made a little noise on the U.S. Rock Tracks chart (#3), but only peaked at #54 on the Billboard Top 100.

If you’ve never seen this Stallone movie that bounces somewhere between a father-son action drama and an anthem for the world of arm wrestling, then do yourself a favor and watch it sometime. You’ll need some intestinal fortitude to survive the first part of the movie, because the kid in the movie is about as annoying as any kid in any movie ever made, and this is not Stallone’s finest work, but at least you get a decent payoff when it hits the arm wrestling championships in the latter half of the movie. And how many movies have you ever watched with arm wrestling subject matter in it? Ok then.

In the meantime, with a little help from Sly, here is the video with some footage from the movie for the song, “Winner Takes it All”…

Thanks for reading, check out Tim Hill pitching for the Yankees before the season ends, and just remember: “The world meets nobody halfway. When you want something, you gotta take it”

sincerely,

the80s

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“Who Wants to Break the News About Uncle Joe?”

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Double K

“You remember Uncle Joe.” – Bob Seger

Bonus points for the Steve Martin shirt!

Every few months on a random Saturday, I get up early (for me), make some coffee, and drive about 15 minutes to Lake Fayetteville. I park by the Botanical Gardens, throw my tripod and scope over my shoulder and make the easy 10 minute walk to the Mulhollan Blind, a staple there since 2016. The blind was built in tribute to Paige Mulhollan, a local avid birder who passed away in 2012. I never met Paige, but I met his son Kelly, albeit briefly, one Saturday earlier this year when he stopped by obviously guiding a small group of birders around Lake Fayetteville.

I usually set up my scope, get my binoculars out, open my Merlin app on my phone and spend a few hours watching the bird activity around and on the water. There are people who stop by the blind and chat for a few minutes – photographers, other birders, and just nosy people walking along the nature path. There are kayakers paddling and fishermen fishing on the lake. I’ve spotted various hawks and bald eagles and kingfishers and blue herons along with all types of ducks and geese. The surrounding woods house all types of woodpeckers and warblers and everyday backyard birds like chickadees and cardinals and Blue Jays.

The blind is a quiet haven of thoughts and observations. It almost feels like a modern day invisibility cloak looking through the small cutout windows and watching. There is a voyeuristic feeling as the kayakers and fishermen carry on. Occasionally they’ll point to the blind probably wondering if or who is in there viewing the world around them in complete obscurity.

This particular beautiful morning in October, I got out of my vehicle and made the familiar walk to the blind only and at one point realized I had walked too far along the trail. I had come to an unfamiliar split in the path and a wooden walkway that I had never been on. I thought how strange it was that I missed the blind. I chalked it up to being deep in thought and turned around. I came upon the path where the Mulhollan Blind stood only when I arrived there was no blind and as I stood there looking, my only thought was “what the (insert loud hawk scream)?”

The blind was gone and this was all that was left.

A quick Google search informed me that the fire department had been called to a late night fire at the blind in late August. Whether it was arson or an “accident,” there is little doubt that someone was there shortly before it started given it was the only area of fire destruction. Kelly Mulhollan was quoted in that same article as saying that they hope to rebuild the blind.

Me too, Kelly. Me too.

Who wants to play those eights and aces?
Who wants a raise, who needs a stake?
Who wants to take that long-shot gamble
And head out for Fire Lake?

This blind marked the first of many’s for me. First time to use my Vortex scope. First of many waterfowl I’d never studied nor even paid attention to before. First of closeups of a bald eagle, a pileated woodpecker, and a snowy egret. I’m sure there were many firsts there for other avid birders, photographers, or walkers that just liked to stop in for a few minutes and look around.

Many firsts indeed, but maybe not a round of firsts like Bob Seger sings of in “Fire Lake,” his 1980 hit about taking risks. One of his self-proclaimed personal lyrical favorites, Seger’s song hit #6 on the charts upon its’ release as his first single in 1980 from his “Against the Wind” album which features the title track (a #5 hit) and “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” (a #14 hit). The album spent many weeks on the top albums charts peaking at #2. Never seen Bob live, but I’ve always loved Bob’s voice and admired his talent.

This is “Fire Lake”…

Thanks for reading.

sincerely,

the80’s

No, the irony is not lost me.

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Elly and the Kid

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Double K

The kid was there holding his sign before the game, in between innings, after the game. Wearing a Reds jersey with the number 44 on the back, the kid had short, dark hair tucked under his Reds hat, and looked to be about 11 or 12. He stood out amongst the sea of Brewers’ blue and gold at American Family Field, but he didn’t care. Half inning after half inning under the relentless afternoon August sun, the kid expectantly made the walk down the stairs from his 15th row seat in Milwaukee next to his dad with sign in hand. My nephew Keller and I would watch him get as close as he could to the visiting Cincinnati Reds dugout and then as he held up his sign staring at one player in particular and yelling his name as that player ran onto and off the field – “Elly!”

The sign itself was just your basic sheet of white cardboard that every kid in America has used for a school project at one time or another. The words from a large black marker formed a message that read: “Elly, you’re my favorite player. Trade you a pair of my sliding gloves for a pair of yours?” Fastened onto the board was a pair of white sliding gloves. On the reverse side of the board was the same message except it was written in Spanish, Elly’s native language.

Elly is Elly De La Cruz, the Cincinnati Reds’ 22 year old superstar and face of the franchise. De La Cruz, aka “La Cocoa” is a six foot five athletic freak of nature. The Dominican-born shortstop flashes an infectious smile, throws bullets from shortstop to first base, steals bases by the handful, and can unleash mammoth home runs with his powerful swing at any given moment. So, it’s understandable that the kid wanted a piece of De La Cruz, a big kid himself.

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The last few seasons have seen the introduction of sliding gloves/mitts in major league baseball. They look kind of like the mittens your mom used to put on you when you were five only they’re more stylish in 2024.

It was practically impossible to do anything while wearing them when you were younger. Mittens sucked. It was like not having any hands. Now, they have finally found a decent use for them – major league baseball. They use them all of the time now in major league baseball after suffering through too many years of dislocated and broken digits from base stealers going in head first only to injure a finger against the base or against their opponents’ leg, foot, glove, etc. Now, when players reach base, out come the sliding gloves which are designed to reduce the risk of injury from friction and impact, and to improve grip and control to help prevent these injuries. Progress I guess.

Back to the kid. I watched him and his sign the entire game. I watched Elly. If Elly ever saw him, he didn’t show it. Time and again, straight into and out of the dugout Elly ran. These players have to focus during the game and it must be difficult especially for the more popular players like De La Cruz, but I still began to feel bad for the kid as did many of the other fans in the vicinity. Even my nephew yelled “Elly!” a few times trying to help the kid out. Elly went one for four that day, and the Reds held on for a 4–3 win over the Brewers, but the kid never got his sliding gloves. At least he hadn’t when we got up to leave shortly after the end of the game.

But I thought about the kid afterwards. I once heard that the measure of our faith is in our perseverance. It’s faith in whatever you choose to have faith in, so I imagined the kid’s faith in Elly through his afternoon of perseverance did finally paid off, and as the stadium was emptying out, the kid got his “Mean Joe moment” and Elly appeared from beneath the stadium somewhere and looked at the kid and as he tossed his sliding mitts to him, he said, “Hey kid, catch,” or maybe it was “Aquí niño, atrapar.” Maybe it didn’t happen, but maybe it did, and it gave me a good feeling to think that it did.

Gracias, Elly. Gracias.

“Dearly Beloved, We are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.”

Prince was simply known as “The Kid” in his 1984 movie “Purple Rain.” Elly has some Prince to him. He has some flare, some style, some nice drip. He has some stage presence, and man does he have some talent. These are all things that the multi-talented sports-fan Prince Rogers Nelson would have greatly appreciated. This song came out nearly 30 years before Elly was even born, but I feel like when Elly is doing Elly things, that the fans and the crowds can see the talent and feel the energy and they too will feel themselves drawn to and screaming for The Kid.

Come on readers. Let’s get nuts.

Thanks for reading.

sincerely,

the80s

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“Do You Remember the Days?”

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Double K

“We built these paper mountains then sat and watched them burn?” – Foo Fighters

A friend recently asked me what it’s like not having either parent living. I thought for a moment and responded with a simple phrase: “It’s quiet.”

I’ve had a lot of quiet moments since my dad’s passing in 2021 and my mom’s passing just a few months ago. Gone are the phone calls and the doctor appointments. Gone are the holiday gatherings and attorney meetings. No more physical therapy appointments. The errands to the grocery store, the bills that need to be paid, the checking accounts that need to be monitored, the correspondence with nurses and aides and staff. All. Gone.

I thought a lot about these moments and others last Saturday at the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s event in NW Arkansas. It’s an event I’ve participated in the past, but this was the first time for me carrying the purple flower indicating a person who has lost a loved one to dementia. In the past, I had carried a yellow one as one of a caregiver. The purple one was heavier. It also seemed quieter.

Quiet were the footsteps of hundreds of others gathered for the same cause. Quiet were the others thinking similar thoughts and running through a similar gamut of emotions. It was not a celebration. It was not “fun,” but it was necessary and it was also heartbreakingly beautiful as hundreds of others carried yellow and orange and purple flowers. There were even a few blue flower carrying individuals signifying someone currently suffering from dementia, including Wally, whose wife spoke briefly before the walk began. Wally looked on at his wife, smiling… quietly.

There’s a gap now. A gap in activity. A gap in life. But from new gaps new growth can occur. Perhaps even one day that growth will be nothing more than fields and fields of white flowers signifying a cure for those suffering from dementia now and in the future. Until then, we keep living moments at a time.

“Now
For the very first time
Don’t you pay no mind
Set me free, again
To keep alive, a moment at a time”

The irony of today’s song title, “Walk” by Foo Fighters is that many dementia patients (including my mom) eventually lose their ability to walk and lose their ability to talk coherently. It’s the damnedest thing. I really don’t know how else to describe it. Walking one day. Unable to walk the next. The lyrics of the song also speak to learning to talk again. Dementia robs the person of coherent speech. Speaking in English one day. Speaking in mumbled gibberish the next. There were times I just pretended she was speaking in tongues and God understood her and that’s all that mattered.

Dementia sucks and well, if you’ve made it this far and haven’t wanted to go drinking just yet, then you already know this from your own personal experience, or maybe you just wanted to see if I could actually draw some sort of conclusion with a Foo Fighters’ song. Besides the obvious title, this video makes me smile. It makes me laugh. If you’re going to spend time caring or being around someone with dementia, you need to do plenty of both. You need to absorb the madness and the chaos and the complete absurdity of life’s cruelest disease with plenty of smiles and laughs and thankful prayers to offset all of the tears and frustration and anger that accompany it, because there will come a time when the quiet arrives, and a time when the quiet sets in. When it does, you may notice the sun and sky a little more. You might realize you haven’t had time to read a book in years… perhaps even The Good Book. You might feel the wind against your skin with a little more sensitivity. You might feel the pain in your lower back just a bit more from working in the yard, but you might embrace it because it means there is breath in your lungs and strength in your muscles, and that’s a wonderful thing. Or you might sit on your patio watching and contemplating a Northern Cardinal and its’ life as it sits at your bird feeder cracking open safflower seeds and staring back at you intently, curiously, quietly.

When the time comes, what will you do with your quiet?

“Learning to walk again
I believe I’ve waited long enough
Where do I begin?
Learning to talk again
Can’t you see I’ve waited long enough?
Where do I begin?”

Released in June of 2011, this Foo Fighters single went to #1 on the Billboard Rock Charts. The video is a homage to Joel Schumacher’s 1993 movie “Falling Down” starring Michael Douglas. This music video also won the 2011 Best Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards. If you like the Foos like I the Foos, and you don’t need any quiet for the next few minutes, then turn it up, smile, and enjoy…

Where do I begin?

sincerely,

the80s

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“Seven Years Went Under the Bridge”

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Double K

“Like time was standing still.” – OMD

Seven years seem like forever. Seven years seem like seven seconds.

I don’t get on Facebook much anymore, but sometimes I will just to see the “Facebook Memories” that pop up in my feed so that I can yet again be reminded of that ruthless unapologetic thief named Time. Several weeks ago I logged in and “On this day 7 years ago…” came up, but this particular post stuck with me a little longer than my normal passing glance. It was a picture posted by my high school friend Andrea from June of 2017, and it was of her parents and my parents posing outdoors for a picture together somewhere in Norman, Oklahoma most likely outside of Louie’s Bar & Grill or Charleston’s Restaurant, a couple of places my parents frequented while still living in Norman. The picture was particularly noteworthy, because it was just a few months later in 2017 that my dad would have a fall (one of several) that necessitated a lengthy stay in a skilled rehab facility. It also spurred the moving of my parents out of their house in Norman and into an assisted living facility closer to my wife and I in Rogers, Arkansas. My mom was in the early to middle years of her battle with dementia. My dad would recover from that particular fall in 2017, but another spill in May of 2021 would eventually lead to his death late in the summer of 2021.

We’ve always had time on our sides
Now it’s fading fast.

Several weeks ago I noticed my mom, now in the later stages of dementia, sleeping more, eating and engaging less. Several days ago, she was put under full time hospice care and on Saturday afternoon, June 29th she passed away peacefully with myself, my sister Kari, and her brother Rick near her bedside. Her grueling journey living with the cruelest of diseases had mercifully come to an end. It was both sad and happy at the same time. We laughed. We cried. We hugged. Now, she’ll be laid to rest in her beloved hometown of Pawhuska, Oklahoma where we’ll gather and laugh some more. We’ll cry some more. We’ll hug some more. And we’ll celebrate and reminisce about better days.

Biblically, the number seven represents completion and perfection, so nearly seven years since my parents moved here I know now they are both perfect and whole and together once again dancing and laughing and forever reunited. But through the seven years I’ve questioned God many times what the point was, what was He trying to teach her or me or anyone. Why couldn’t He heal her? Hell, why couldn’t he rid the whole world of dementia? We still have other diseases and plagues and cancer and unforeseen tragedies, so why do we need a mental disease that affects so many millions of people and loved ones every year? I tried negotiating. I yelled at Him. I argued with Him. I begged Him and pleaded that He end her suffering. I know that I will never fully understand nor receive the answers I sought this side of Heaven, and yet when He did end her suffering on Saturday, it still hurt. It still stung. That’s part of being human. And it continues to hurt and sting, but I’ll try to smile through the tears. I’ll try to laugh through the pain.

When I heard these lyrics from today’s post I had to pause again and ponder upon God’s perfect number, his perfect plan, and upon the last seven years in which I’ve had the distinct honor of helping to care for my parents. I haven’t done it by myself. There is no doubt about that. I may have been the point or the lead, but I could not have survived these past seven years truly without the undying and unwavering support of my wife, Rebekah, who made things go when I struggled. My sister Kari and her husband Nick stepped in and helped all while living in Wisconsin and raising two small children. Our daughter Caroline was amazing when called upon. My wonderful sister-in-laws, notably Roxanne, Sheila, and Sherry were unbelievable in the move from Norman seven years ago. My mom’s brother, my uncle Govan was always so encouraging and supportive and came for numerous visits through the years. There were also many friends and relatives that called, wrote, visited, and offered their support and love, and for that I will be forever grateful.

I feel like a chapter is closing. A chapter with some emotional highs and the lowest of lows, but a seven year span I wouldn’t trade for anything.

“Every second, every moment
We’ve got to, we’ve gotta make it last”

Perhaps OMD’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys hear their lyrics from their 1986 song and think the same thing: seven years seems like seven seconds, now.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark really only had two “hit” songs with “Enola Gay” being their other most recognizable song. But this particular song, OMD’s most famous, was written and recorded in under 24 hours for the popular “Pretty in Pink Soundtrack” and was featured prominently in the closing scene of the movie.

Director John Hughes was a big fan of the band and had enlisted them to write a song for the closing prom scene, which they did called “Goddess of Love.” But after the original ending of the movie tested poorly (Molly Ringwold’s character Andie ended up with Jon Cryer’s character, Duckie), an alternative ending was written and shot. The new and final ending has Molly choosing well… watch for yourself…

Because of the new ending, Hughes needed OMD to write and record a new song to replace “Goddess of Love,” that would fit with the new ending, instead. OMD obliged with “If You Leave,” written and recorded in under 24 hours.

Though my mom preferred yellow, she was beautiful in every color, loved clothes and being fashionable. I believe she would have appreciated Molly Ringwold’s fashion sense. This song was a defining staple of 80’s music and peaked at #4 in May of 1986 while I was finishing my freshman year at West Mid-High living in Norman, Oklahoma, and my mom was a teacher at a nearby elementary school.

The song itself is a perfect 80’s example of the ending of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. “If You Leave” comes from the perspective of a person who knows that the end of a relationship is near and is asking for just a little more time before the end.

McClusky described the song as “The end of high school… the ending of your childhood,” going on to say that they were trying to capture “this fear of what comes next.” I think what comes through is that teenage angst and urgency that occurs as chapters of lives end and new ones begin. The video sure goes over the top to relay those emotions as well. But some 35+ years after the release of this song, I think you can still listen to it and have similar feelings and urgencies but just maybe from a slightly different older, more mature perspective.

But what comes through as you watch that closing scene and hear this song is the heart-on-sleeve urgency of teen romance and really the urgency of life in general. It’s fleeting so love on your family and your friends with every moment you get.

As always, thanks for reading.

sincerely,

the80’s

RIP to my beautiful mom pictured here with my sister Kari and your author circa 1986-87
The world won’t listen – growing up with Pretty in Pink

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“Dawn is Breaking Everywhere. Light a Candle, Curse the Glare”

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Double K

“Draw the curtains, I don’t care
‘Cause it’s alright” – The Grateful Dead

If you believe in the old adage that a man is the sum of his parts then Bill Walton needed every bit (and then some) of his 6 foot 11 inch frame to hold in the mighty sum he was made of for the 71 years he walked (occasionally hobbled) along on this spinning rock. I don’t know that there are enough adjectives or descriptions to describe the one-of-a-kind Walton, but by many accounts of people that knew or spent time around Bill, he was warm, witty, loving, intelligent, bizarre, insightful, thankful, purposeful, gracious, athletic, peculiar, radical, philosophical, curious, insert-your-own description.

Though Bill passed away after a battle with cancer this past Memorial Day weekend, there is a kind of poetical symmetry that he was taken from us in the year where his beloved “Conference of Champions” (the Pac 10/Pac 12) also met its’ untimely demise.

The UCLA basketball legend and NBA Hall of Famer kept a quote on his desk or in his office from his UCLA basketball coach, the late, great John Wooden that read: “To Bill Walton, it’s the things you learn after you know it all that count.” Such a true statement, and one I’m sure which helped spur Bill’s lifelong pursuit of whatever fancied his mind at any given time.

“I don’t sleep much. I’m on the go. My mind is racing. My wife says my mind is like the rolling dials on a slot machine. So, yeah, I think about everything.”

I’ve always thought to let a man speak for himself if he has something to say, and boy did Bill have things to say. For those that enjoyed the boyish enthusiasm, the comical comparisons, and sometimes just bizarre thoughts, comments, and actions then please enjoy the following quotes from Bill, because nothing explains Bill Walton any better than Bill Walton, himself:

“I was a skinny, scrawny guy. I stuttered horrendously, couldn’t speak at all. I was a very shy, reserved player and a very shy, reserved person. I found a safe place in life in basketball.”

“I grew up in a non-athletic family, where my parents were interested in music, in literature, in education and art.”

“Growing up, my parents were very, very strict. And then I went to UCLA with John Wooden, who was just off the charts.”

“I mean, I’m 6-foot-11, I’ve got red hair, freckles, I’m a goofy, nerdy-looking guy, I’ve got a speech impediment-I stutter and stammer all the time-and I’m a Deadhead.”

“Basketball is one of those rare opportunities where you can make a difference, not only for yourself, but for other people as well.”

“Never rank, rate, or compare coaches, children, concerts, or championships or congratulations. Just enjoy them all.”

“He (John Wooden) told us that he had made a mistake by leaving the word love out of the Pyramid of Success. And that love is the single most powerful and important word in our language and culture. And until we allow the power of love to supersede the love of power, none of us has any chance of success at all.”

Bill’s commentary on various NBA players:

“Bill Russell was my favorite player of all-time.”

“If Eric Piatkowski continues playing at this level, he’s going to replace Jerry West on the NBA logo.”

“John Stockton is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization!”

“Anytime you bring Michael Olowokandi on to your team, disaster is soon to follow.”

 “Greg Ostertag is one of the top centers on this planet!”

“When I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven in the age of the romantics.”

“Why is Scottie Pippen taking a charge? Taking a charge is for people with no game!”

“Doug Christie, what skill, what strength, what power, what quickness. The vision of Magic Johnson, the athleticism of Michael Jordan, the toughness of Larry Bird. Doug Christie has it all.”

“Steve Nash is the most un-athletic player in the league.”

“The only man who can stop Cliff Robinson is Cliff Robinson. The man is unstoppable even at 38.“

“Tracy McGrady is doing things we’ve never seen from anybody – from any planet!”

“If Anthony Johnson ever gets a jumper, who’s going to stop him?”

Bill on his multiple surgeries:

“I learned a long time ago that minor surgery is when they do operation on someone else, not you.”

“Health is the most critical thing in our life. With your health anything is possible. Without it, you can’t do anything.”

“I’ve had 36 orthopedic operations, have two fused ankles, my knees, hands and wrists don’t work, I now have a fused spine, other than that, everything is great.”

Various other Bill quotes:

“Mick Jagger is in better shape than far too many NBA players. It’s up in the air whether the same can be said of Keith Richards.”

“When you find yourself talking about less and less and forgetting the love that you bring, never forget there are things you can replace but others you can not.”

“When you intercept the ball with your stomach, that is great defense.”

“I couldn’t imagine not playing basketball. To me, basketball is what life is all about.”

“A lot of people understand what not saying anything means, so, in effect, not saying anything is really saying a lot.”

“If you’re living for today, if you’re only dreaming about yesterday, it doesn’t work. You got to know that tomorrow is going to be better. Then you’re on your way.”

“Oh well, a touch of grey, kinda suits you anyway. That was all I had to say, and it’s alright.”

It’s a long recognized fact that Bill Walton may have been The Grateful Dead’s biggest fan (quite literally as well standing at 6 feet 11 inches and having attended somewhere in the neighborhood of 800-1000 Grateful Dead concerts).

“The Grateful Dead, they’re my best friends. Their message of hope, peace, love, teamwork, creativity, imagination, celebration, the dance, the vision, the purpose, the passion all of the things I believe in makes me the luckiest Deadhead in the world.”

In 1987 I was going into my junior year of high school when The Grateful Dead released the song and video for “Touch of Grey,” which became the only Grateful Dead song I could name if I was ever prompted to name one of their songs. I never was put on the spot, probably because I didn’t grow up in the right time period and just didn’t have any friends in high school who were “Deadheads.” But I did (and still do) enjoy this particular song which came a little over a year after Bill Walton had won the 6th Man of the Year award in the NBA and had helped lead my favorite NBA team of all time, the 1985-86 Boston Celtics to a NBA championship. While on air many years later, commentator Dave Pasch speaking about Bill’s days as a Celtic reminded Bill “You did win Sixth Man of the Year,” to which Walton replied: “Which means I was Larry Bird’s valet. Which means my job was to tell Larry what time the game started.“

Danny Ainge, Bill Walton, and Larry Bird

Back to the song and video, which I also kind of enjoyed. It features the band as performing skeletons and almost immediately reminded me of an episode of my favorite short-lived TV sitcom from 1984-85 called “It’s Your Move” starring a 15 year old Jason Bateman (Matthew) and his neighbor and antagonist David Garrison (Norman) of “Married With Children” fame. The two-part episode was about a fictitious band created by Matthew named The Dregs of Humanity. The band is portrayed with skeletons hidden under clothing. Anyway, you can still watch the entire two-part show on Youtube should you be so inclined. But I digress.

The fact that drummer Mickey Hart happens to be wearing a Boston Celtics jacket in the video didn’t hurt my admiration, and it also coincided with Bill’s current landscape in 1987 which happened to be the final stop in his injury-plagued NBA journey when he officially retired in 1990.

“Music is critical in our lives and culture. It’s the inspiration that drives us. It’s also the window to our souls. It’s a reflection as to who we are, what we stand for, and where we’re going.” – Bill Walton

The window to our souls. A reflection of who we are, what we stand for, and where we’re going. Written by Robert Hunter and composed by Jerry Garcia, here is the video for “Touch of Grey”

We will get by. We will survive.

Rest easy, Big Red

sincerely,

the80’s

For an outstanding piece written by Bill’s colleague and friend at ESPN, “Jake” Bilas, here is the link to his wonderful tribute.

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