How’s those temps been the last week or so up there in the Great Northwest…. eh?….. Yep, I thought I would send you Northwesterners just a little taste of our Oklahoma summertime weather…. I wasn’t able to include the usual high humidity that we have though, but, I think you got the general idea…..

I’ve been sittin’ back and enjoying the pitter-patter of “Raindrops that keep fallin’ on my head” and much cooler temps than we normally get here this time of year….. I’ve been so relaxed and lazy the past week, I just blew everything else off and caught up on some reading…..

BUT, Alas, all good things do come to an end – The “Heat Dome” is on it’s return trip to Oklahoma as I type this with triple digit highs predicted by the middle of next week….. Oh, well, it was a nice break and everything’s green around here instead of the usual burnt brown we have in July and August….. No need to say “Thank You”, it was my pleasure to send you Seattle-ites a little of Oklahoma summer….. Hope you enjoyed it (Ha-Ha)………

Young Neil took a small step to play…… On Earth’s moon so far away….. Back again in 2020, so they say….. I hope I’ll be around that day……

I can say that I got to see the whole thing unfold on a ungainly big box of a TV with a small screen (Television had only been around for less than 20 years – Electronics have “Stargated” since the late sixties)….. I’m not saying how “old” I was at the time, but, everyone I knew was mesmerized by NASA – Man, real, live SPACE travel brought to you in your living room!….. It was GREAT!….. At that time, it was a given that people would be living on the Moon by the ’90’s at the very latest…. And, what did we do?…… Nothing! – We beat the Russians to the Moon, so, as far as our Government was concerned, there was no reason to go back….. That was a sad, sad day for us all……..

I think we lost a lot as a nation when the Moon missions were over in 1972…..

Yep, that’s the forecasted temps for the OKC area for the next three days…… We’ve been in the triple digits for the past few days, and, it looks like it will continue out past the three days, and we are one of the, dare I say, cool spots in the state…… The panhandle area is racking up temps in the 115 degree range.….. I know I’m talking weather again, but, this is getting serious….. We normally don’t get in the “Big Three” temp area until late July…… August being our hottest time with an average of only 10 days over the century mark per year….. We will pass that figure by the end of the week!…… Here’s what’s really the rub, we’re over 5 inches short on rainfall….. It’s raining all around us, but, the “Heat Dome” keeps it away from Oklahoma ( HS – is Heat Dome a proper meteorological term?)…… Looks like we may be in for more of those wildfires like we had in April…. “Just What We Needed” – Yeah, Sure…..

How’s the weather elsewhere in the MR Community?….. I have to keep the A/C blowing directly on my computer and me just to keep us both up and running……..

…… let me know when I can start watching the news again!…… I am so fed-up with all the coverage of “he who shall not be named”……. I did not realize there’s that many people on this planet who have no musical taste whatsoever….. I don’t even want to discuss my dislikes of this personality (?) because I don’t want to fill-up my limited memory space with such worthless information……

I’ve even considered giving up guitar playing…… Apparently there is no audience for what I consider good music out there, and, I’ll be damned if I’ll ever be “thrilled” playing anything that resembles the music of the so-called “King of Pop”……

Yep, I’m a disgruntled musician who may go “Postal” on my amp at the slightest mention of this person, so, someone out there please be kind enough to let me know when it’s safe to watch good old boring news again (like murders, fires, robberies, earthquakes – you know normal, healthy stuff)…….

I saw them in 1965 at the Fairground Travel & Transportation Building. Inspired me to start a rock band.

Paul Revere and the Raiders’ Drake Levin (1946-2009)

Drake Levin died this morning, just after nine AM, at home in San Francisco. He would have turn 63 in August. He and Phil Volk were part of the ‘essential’ Raiders group that became Television and Recording Teen Idols in the 60’s, teamed with Paul Revere, Mark Lindsay and Mike Smith. Network Television was what launched them into national prominence with successive major hit records.

Drake and Phil were the ones who developed the basic rhythms and choreography for the group, and Drakes’ double-lead guitar piece on “Just Like Me” is a classic. No memorial arrangements are yet known, but will occur in San Francisco at some later date. His wife Sandra was with him at the end, and his closest friends had stayed in touch over the years and gave what support they could. Phil Volk spend six days with him recently, recapping their days together, and playing their old hits together for one last time.

After leaving the Raiders for the last time in 1967, Drake, Phil and Mike Smith formed their group, Brotherhood, and recorded for a time for RCA Records. However, their brightest and most significant moments were as part of Paul Revere’s Raiders, who overall enjoyed 12 years on the Columbia Records record label.

….Independence Day!…… Everybody out there have a fun and safe 4th…… While you’re celebrating our Freedom to celebrate (party ’til you fall down), think about all those Veteran’s and present military personnel who defended this country for that exact reason…… Yeah, yeah, I know we, as a country, seem to be losing some of those original rights, but, I don’t think there is a better, free-er (?) place on the face of the Earth to be……

So-o-o, while you are out and about, if you just happen to run into a Vet and/or an active duty military person, tell them thanks for a job well done…… If it’s a Vietnam Vet, tell ’em the same and add “Welcome Home”……

12 Musicians That are (Surprisingly) Still Alive.

12. Fats Domino
It’s been a long, long time since Fats was capable of walking up Blueberry Hill on his own. Fats is 81 years young, now.

You know what his thrill was? Young blonde nurses. Meet Fats’ personal nurse Gina.

11. Della Reese
Della must have been touched by an angel, because she just keeps on going, at the age of 77. Maybe she’s still living strong because when the Angel touched her, Della ate it.

10. Country Joe McDonald
Joe’s one of the youngest people on this list, at 67 years old, but Woodstock was 40 freakin’ years ago, and Joe was one of the most memorable hippies that stunk up that place. Now, he’s got the smell of old man balls to go with all that patchouli.

9. Charlie Daniels
At 72 years old, Charlie’s only going to out-fiddle the Devil so many more times. It’s hard for that chicken to keep picking dough out of the bread pan, when it’s got arthritis.

8. Lena Horne
We could make a list of the people who are surprisingly black, and Lena would top that list. Lena turned 92 years old yesterday, and we’d bet she’s as hot as ever.

7. Merle Haggard
This Okie from Muskokie has always looked pretty haggard, so he’s aged pretty gracefully, by that measurement. Last year, he had part of his lung removed, and was performing concerts two months later. You think you’re more outlaw than Merle? Let’s see you try that one.

6. Keith Richards
Yeah, everyone knows that Keith is still alive, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking that Keith Richards is still alive. He’s 65 years old now, and he doesn’t look a day over 130.

5. Frankie Valli
Frankie, at 75, is one of the last survivors of the bubble gum pop of the early 1950s. And here, we thought all the singers from the 50s died from a bad case of La Bamba.

4. Chuck Berry
The world would be a lot less uptight if old black men ruled the world. Look at Chuck. 82 years old, and wearing a purple sequinned shirt with brown pants, and ain’t nobody gonna say a damned thing about it!

3. Jerry Lee Lewis
The bad news? Jerry’s getting up there in age (he’s 72). The good news? His third wife is finally legal! She’s still his cousin, though.

2. Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert’s 74 now, and looks better than most of the younguns on this list.

But who cares about that guy? We can’t name one song he ever made. It was all about the Herb Alpert album covers, and they haven’t aged a day.

1. Les Paul
The next time you make fun of old people, think about Les Paul. He’s 94 years old, and he still rocks harder than any metal band out there. That’s because he invented just about every device they use to cover up their crappy guitar playing. He’s the Rock version of Moses. He parted the water, so that they could rock, and he’s almost as old as the other Moses.

……is GREAT!!!!!! Robo, MR Community member, picked up a copy of the newly released game for the Wii……. All the original Ghostbusters are present, as well as some of the other cast members of the movie – The caricatures look just like them, and, from what I can tell, they did all the sound bytes for their individual characters….. It’s a far cry from the old Commodore 64 game, but, if you know the movies (I and II), you won’t find it that hard to play or understand….. The graphics are dead-on, and all the controls seem to work as advertised, and, you won’t finish it in one setting…..

I’m sure someone can find a more detailed review on the net for those of us who might enjoy this game and will put up a link in the comment section for the rest of us…… Jek, I know you will like it……

“Who you gonna call”???……….

NO COMMENT…………….

Before you read this Post, be sure you read Part I of this PDB Adventure, if you haven’t, scroll down about three posts and read “People Just….” and all the comments (yeah, I know I could’ve put a link to it, but, I don’t remember exactly how, and, after all, it’s only three Posts back – Give me a break – I promise to do the link thing on the next Part)…..

As we left off in Part I, we had entered the VA and taken notice of the first of the “Common Courtesy” signs….. As you enter the VA from the North end at the ground floor level, you are faced with a very lo-o-n-g hallway which you have to negotiate in order to get to any of the clinics (called modules) or services available….. Now, I know from experience, that it doesn’t matter how wide a hallway, an aisle, or even a football field is, it only takes one human (or human-like entity) to impede and/or completely block your forward progression in such a way it makes you think that they are placed there on purpose and are well trained in the art of keeping you from your destination…..

The VA hallway is about 12 ft. wide and usually fairly crowded depending on the time of day….. Since I had an early appointment (0730 hrs), the 1/4 mile long hallway on this particular morning had only one (1) lone human-like entity slowly moving in the direction we needed to go in a serpentine fashion (that’s right to left -left to right – and very slowly forward all at the same time)….. The entity turned out to be a VA employee who had his nose (and his mind?) stuck in some poor Veteran’s file and was totally unaware of the existence of anyone else…. I tell you, it didn’t take PDB but a couple of seconds to become fed-up with the situation and take action!…..

We were about 20 feet behind the human obstruction and gaining on him fast…. PD Bob went into a ninja stance, and, with a grunt and growl, took off like a rocket…. As he reached maximum prairie dog velocity, he went into a ninja slide resembling a baseball player sliding into home base (I heard the Yankees tried to recruit him once, but, that’s a different story)….. He hooked his little combat boots around the man’s shoes and ever so smoothly slid him over to the right side of the hallway…. It looked like a pro bowler picking up a 7-10 split….. It was so smooth, the HLE (human-like entity) was totally unaware that he had been moved at all!…. It was great – I immediately sped-up and passed him as quickly as possible…. PDB caught up with me, chuckling and slapping the dirt off of his fatigues, while making some off-color remarks about the cleanliness of the building and it’s maintenance staff…..

I said to PDB, “I guess that proves no one reads or heeds signs”…. PDB quickly replied, “Just don’t be to quick to judge there, MR, that was just one Bozo”…. He was right, we had only made it to the first right-hand turn taking us into another long hallway which led to Module D (clinic) and my appointment…. I made a mental note of, “yes, it was going to be a long day”……

End of Part II – Stay tuned for Part III coming soon (maybe later – we’ll just have to see)…. Same rules apply – Make your questions, comments, and slurs known and I will do my best to debunk them…..

Now that MR has an iPod, he needs a few podcasts to subscribe to. I imagine he’d want a blues one: a quick search turned up Murphy’s Saloon Blues Podcast. I have no idea if it is any good though.

Here are some of the podcasts I listen to:

• Slice of SciFi
• Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
• Car Talk
• Cranky Geeks – video
• Agatha Christie Radio Mysteries Podcast (find it in the iTunes podcast directory)

What are your favorite podcasts?

I don’t know if it’s considered a real holiday, and it doesn’t carry as much weight as Mother’s Day, but, if you are a father hopefully you’ll see something from your offspring…… I made out like a bandit, myself….. I now have an iPod in my possession!…… It great to have that much music, pics, and other stuff in such a small package at your fingertips anywhere…… I can just put on the ear buds and ignore anything and anybody, even PD Bob (most of the time – He is rather Pesky at times)…… I do have to take it away from him on a regular basis, as he has a bad case of “Sticky Fingers”…… The only problem I see is that it would be very easy to lose or misplace – Ask Jek about that….. That’s how I came by it – He lost it in the track rail of a car seat….. Replaced it with a new one, then found this one…… His bad luck was my good luck…… Thanks, Jek – Happy Father’s Day to me – Ha!……..

So-o-o, Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers in the MR community, and may you get what you deserve – a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T and an enjoyable day doing what you want…….

……Don’t read signs – Or, if they do, they don’t HEED them….. I’m here to offer proof with the help of Prairie Dog Bob (PDB)…..

As we last heard, PDB was off to Washington via his underground network….. Well, he made a quick stop back here to refill his Stainless Steel Flask with HE-HWB (High-Explosive Harvey WallBanger)….. Just to be sure, he grabbed an extra flask – He knew he was headed into the “Zone of the Unknown” – Washington Termites being his target….. I told him I had a couple of VA appointments, and, he immediately jumped at the chance to go along…. “Just to check out the VA’s operation”, PDB said…. PDB didn’t want to miss the opportunity to investigate a Government facility….. Now back to the proof…..

We arrived at the gate, and the guard checked my ID…. He didn’t ask for PD Bob’s ID, but, PDB forced him to look at his UIA (Underground Investigation Authority) badge and card…. PDB told the guard, in no uncertain terms, that, “Some rules are there for good reason, and, security tops the list”….. I knew it was going to be a lo-o-n-ng day…. NOW, back to the proof…..

As we entered the building, I noticed some new signs in strategically located places….. They were about 18″x24″ – white lettering on a dark brown background….. The signs read as follows: NOTE: Common Courtesy is REQUIRED “Damn!”, exclaimed PDB, “A sign in a Government facility that actually makes sense – I’m friggin’ amazed!”….. Remember the title of this post, “People Don’t” – Well, they didn’t…..

END OF PART I – Stay tuned for Part II of this exciting continuing PD Bob Adventure – “PDB meets the VA”…. (Note: As I am still documenting and writing this tale, I can’t say how many parts there will be, and, I am not sure whether I will make it a separate Post or just continue it as Comments to this Post….. As I said – STAY TUNED – The best is yet to come)….. (Note 2: In the meantime, feel free to make any assumptions, comments, or questions….. I will answer them – Good, Bad, or Ugly….)

If you don’t have all your thought’s together, you can always talk about the weather…… It appears to be getting weirder and weirder by the minute….. All of Oklahoma’s tornadoes and storms we usually get this time of year seem to be hammering Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and points to the Northeast….. It seems the jet stream is staying lower than usual this year….. I even heard that Seattle has went 27 days straight WITHOUT RAIN!….. That’s unusual to say the least…..

I wonder if this downward (maybe changing is a better word for it) weather spiral is going to continue or level out at some point?….. Have we damaged the planet enough to cause an irreparable cycle of major unpredictable weather changes that will continue to just get worse and worse?…..

I’m moving MR Headquarters into Prairie Dog Bob’s underground bunker and wait for it all to blow over if possible…… It’s all just “Blowin’ in the Wind” (Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan)…..

……are back!…… Now, let’s see if we can boost this blog back up again…… I guess everyone’s been very, very busy over the last month and a half or so?…… I’ve got many PD Bob tales to tell, along with my own stuff ( I touched on this somewhat in comment 7 on the previous post on the blog’s livelihood)…..

So-o-o, I’m going to start posting and/or commenting on a daily basis (99.4% true)….. So-o-o, start checking the blog regularly to keep in the loop, and, feel free to Post, Post, Post, and/or Comment, Comment, Comment, and we’ll keep the cobwebs away……