Glee-Full

I'm so full of glee that it's overflowing. Spent the better part of yesterday getting, what may be, my last dose of real live Glee. Grandkid Catherine, a high school senior, has been part of the performing choir (I think that's what you call a bunch of talented kids singing and dancing their way to pure glee) at Prospect High in the Chicago area. A large competition took place in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin close enough for us to drive over to watch her and her group perform. Although I have never watched the TV version of this Glee thing, I kinda get the idea. After hours upon hours of preparation, hundreds of kids sing and dance their collective little butts off hoping to beat the little butts off of the other thousand teams of hundreds of singing and dancing kids. (I should probably refer to them as young adults) Most of the action takes place in the gym/auditorium where spectators squirm around on the oak planked grandstand seats while friends, classmates and parents of the preforming group get to sit in folding chairs in front of the stage to scream and howl encouragement to the performers. After a short introduction on a barely audible loudspeaker the group springs to life. Upbeat vocals, solos and duets and triplets and quadtets, octets and pretty soon the entire seven hundred voices unite into one sweet gigatet. All the while all eight hundred of them are dancing (their butts off) wildly with choreography that would bring tears to Paula Abdul's little eyes. As if this isn't enough, during all this singing, dancing and smiling, the entire nine hundred kids change costumes without missing a beat. Pretty incredible huh? Considering that this repeats itself for each of the six or seven thousand choirs (that's what I'm told they're called) during the course of a day things run fairly smoothly. I'd like to share a few of my observations of the event. Every dance step, high note, low note, gesture and head toss was accompanied by screams, whistles, applause and hoots from well wishers scattered around the gym/auditorium. The loudest, or course, from the floor seats. Secondly, it was smart to stay in your selected seat during and in between performances or risk the possibility of being run down by singing and/or dancing "young adults" racing to or from their dressing rooms, place on the stage, place in the gym/auditorium to check out the competition, or the snack bar for some, much needed, energy producing substance. This accompanied by an equal amount of parents, relatives, sisters, brothers, friends and some guy that got accidentally stopped in to ask directions to Culvers, makes the "Running With the Bulls" child's play. All and all it was a very entertaining and enjoyable afternoon even though I didn't run into Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jane Lynch or Lea Michele, I think I saw the actual people that their characters were modeled after. I can't close this Gleeful review without reporting a few of the real highlights of the event. (Other than the outstanding performance by my very own granddaughter Catherine) Highlight #1 - during one of the costume changes one of the male performers didn't grab a hat so he continued the dance number going through all the same gestures as the hatted guys only hatless. (and he did an almost convincing job of it) #2 - Similar situation only this time a girl missed her apron and dish towel for a rousing rendition of Nine to Five. (once again carried off like a real trouper) And at #3 - The costume malfunction that we all (well me) wait to happen. A strenuous dance move, a broken strap and - well it wasn't a complete bust but . . . the show must go on and go on it did for what probably seemed like two hours for the young lady involved. Once again true professionalism prevailed and most important of all, no animals were injured in the production of this event. (Just in - the exposer has landed a lucrative contract from Victoria's Secret) Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the event because the flash might distract some of the judges, spectators or snack bar attendants. But, here is a rear view of Catherine's group and a shot of her at the awards presentation.

Catherine is the girl, front row left, facing the guy with his back to us.
Isn't she pretty?

Some of the thousands of Young Adults waiting for the award announcements. Catherine is the short girl in the center of the back row next to the tall guy with the white tie. I think she even looks better in this shot.

The winning group celebrates with the traditional GatorAde pour!
I didn't think that they were that great!

Waiting For The Blizzard

As I watch the snow start to fall outside my window waiting for the predicted "Blizzard of the Century", I recall a day about 44 years ago. A day like any other day at that time of my life. The weather had hit a record high temperature for January in Chicago only a day or two ago and, as usual I was up against an end of the month deadline. I worked for a fairly popular magazine and had an office on the tenth floor of what used to be the Palmolive Building at the corner of Walton and Michigan. No need to panic about the deadline at 10am the next day, so, a little relaxation was in order. Fortunately our building was completely outfitted with a fine cocktail lounge on the ground floor. Three or four or five hours of refreshments with friends and I headed for the elevator ready to hit the old drawing board. After a couple of hours of napping it was down to work pouring over envelop after envelop of transparencies, shooting photostats, drawing, cutting and pasting pictures. As the final pages took shape, daylight started peeping through the blinds. It was almost nine in the morning when I realized that no one was showing up for work. Honestly I hadn't looked outside since noon the previous day and had no idea what was happening out there. Soon the phones started ringing. I answered the one on our secretary's desk only to be informed by the caller that he couldn't make it in because of the weather. What a wimp! Then I looked out of the window and much to my surprise people were walking down the middle of Michigan avenue while the vehicles that were visible were at a standstill. It looked a lot like a scene from Dr, Zhivago. A quick shave, hair comb and tooth brushing in the photo studio dressing room and I was ready to deliver the all important pages for approval. I stood for a moment on Michigan Avenue just taking in this once in a lifetime sight (or so I thought). I headed North to the "Boss's Pad", a route that took me past numerous Rush Street watering holes which were already packed with folks that "couldn't get to work because of the weather". Refusing invitation after invitation I continued to the "Mansion", dropped off my layouts and continued on home. Home at the time was up in the Broadway and Diversey area (about twenty blocks from work). I'm not sure how long the walk took because I was entertained the entire trek by the people. People walking, people skiing, people pulling sleds, people shoveling and people digging out cars. I don't recall any people complaining or being nasty. There was almost a sense of celebration going on. I arrived home cold and tired but a couple of hours sleep, a shower, dry clothes and I was off to accept a few of those drink invites.
My son, Derek, sent me a link to some pics of the event. Here are a few that are exactly what I saw that day.

The scene outside my window at Michigan and Walton.

Skier coming off the Michigan Avenue Bridge. I think he outran the plows.

Brave souls "making to the office".
I don't think that anyone got extra "Brownie Points" for their effort.

The Outer Drive wasn't a real good route choice.

Detouring through the Park wasn't a good option either.

Well, the snow is picking up a little here. So, let's see if I can get material for another "Snowbound" story to relate in the future. (probably not 44 years from now though)

National Pie Day!

Just in time for my new diet! Wow a Blog a Day for two whole days but, this is a special occasion. Second only to National Chocolate Day in importance, National Pie Day is ranked as a major holiday around the free (or at least inexpensive) world. Last year I celebrated with a Pi Pie -

This year I found an even more appropriate Crustation to herald the event. The Mac Pie!

That's all I got to say. I'm off to the nearest pie shop to celebrate!!!

New Year, New News!

I must have dozed off there for a couple of weeks. I had so many good ideas floating around in my head that I created some sort of Blog Jam. I wanted to talk about weight loss resolutions, weather conditions, bird feeding and the Chicago mayoral race and what happens? A new Grandkid arrives! I already have big Grandkid news from up Nord where Eddie is venturing out on his own two feet without parental aid and down here, Saffie learned to sing the ABC song (and sing the ABC song, and sign the ABC song and sing......) So, after a false alarm trip to the hospital Sunday night, Derek and Jeanna took off for the real thing Tuesday morning. In almost no time at all little Sebastian Byron showed up. my principle participation in the delivery was as head driver of Super G (Super Granny) to her appointed posts. When the call came, early Tuesday morn alerting us that mom-to-be was heading to the hospital, we grabbed our prepacked bags and set off to join Saffron to wait for news of the birth. Unfortunately I hadn't planed on the fine city of Fennimore plowing our street and piling snow across the foot of our driveway. It only took about a half hour before one of our neighbors with a husky pickup truck and a tow chain freed us from our snowy situation. The baby arrived at the hospital before we arrived at Saffie's side. Jeanna and Derek had the foresight of making arrangements with a friend who lives nearby to stay with Saffie until Super G got there. Mom, Dad, Big Sister, Super G and baby Sebastian are all home and doing well while Grandpa is trying to plow through the Blog Jam and post some sort of semi-entertaining blog.
Sebastian's birth is the big news as he puts the Grandkid number at nine but in June, Daughter Summer will provide number ten who will be, what I'm told, the last in my Grandkid collection. Not that I'm suggesting anything to my older Grandkids, but, I'm clear for "Greatgrandkids". Enough said.
In the weight loss area - I need to lose some weight. That's mainly because a lot of my favorite clothes don't fit anymore and Lands' End isn't doing too much in the way of stretch-and-wear outfits. My first thought was to merely try to grow taller. I checked with the Marquise Du Sade web site but the cost of a better quality rack is cost prohibitive. So, my new approach is to simply eat smaller portions. With a little research I found that many foods come in smaller sizes for fatties like me. As an example, I've found Mini M & Ms and those little candy bars are also very handy small portions. There's even a lot of mini cookies on the market and I've found some tasty little pies as well. We should be seeing results in no time.
I'm not going to give the weather the satisfaction of giving it space here and the birds are feeding fine on their own so I'm going to wrap this up with a picture of Sebastian and dinner.

Sebastian before a certain football game yesterday.

After the game!

An example of M & Ms lite. Notice how much smaller those babies are!

On The Thirteenth Day of Christmas.........

Tis the time to be unjolly. Fa La etc. As Old Man Winter drones on, Old Man Santa and his Elves head back to the North Pole. Unfortunately they don't bother to clean up the seasonal debris that accumulated in homes of good little girls and boys around the world. We may not be the best little boy and girl in town but we do have a giant share of Christmas debris, aka decorations. There comes a time when the moon, stars and tinsel are aligned and the magical light that glows from every nook and cranny in our little antique palace starts to dim. (Let me tell you, there's nothing worse then a dim cranny) Suddenly out of the dimness emerges...The Spirit of Christmas is Over. When she swings into action a wise old man finds safe haven before he gets swept up and packed into one of the many plastic totes that cover the back wall of our garage. An amazing fact is that after taking into consideration the amount of things that are broken, worn out, or given away, we usually end up with just a little more heading back to the garage than came out of there only a few short months ago. Another thing that always puzzles me is that no matter how carefully and systematically things are packed away, next year one or more keepsakes will be missing for at least a few weeks only to turn up one of the Easter decorations totes. As the last tote finds its proper spot on the garage shelves the old guy creeps out of his hiding spot only to realize that his part of this seasonal ritual has yet to be tackled. Here's where Mother Nature springs to the rescue in the form of snow and cold weather. Yep it's the old "Outside Lights". The weather along with "Old Folks" warnings by the weather guy on TV give me a little reprise and a simple unplugging will add to the "seasons over" appearance. I promise, on the first warm, snow-free day, I'll be out there with my ladder, risking life and limb pulling those lights off my gutters.
Now as we settle back enjoying the new year and waiting for the arrival of the next Grandkid, (due any time now) the house takes on an almost serene atmosphere. But, it won't be long before those afore mentioned Easter totes will appear in our dining room and bunnies, eggs and chicks are the main attraction for a month or so. Then comes Autumn (Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations) and then the "Return of the Christmas Totes" starts again. I must admit that Jo does a wonderful job keeping our place cheerfully decorated and doesn't ask much help from me other than to stay out of the way during the metamorphosis. (except the dreaded "Outside Lights") So, for now I'll just unplug those "Outside Lights" and admire my nonseasonal house until the minor holiday stuff shows up (Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day and Groundhog Day).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The "Staging Area" formerly the dining room table. All decorations must pass through this area before and after the Christmas Season.

A rare peek at the tote toting "Spirit of Christmas Over".

"Seven Swans Asinging!"

Even though these swans were actually laughing at me, I knew that this photo would come in handy when I had absolutely nothing to post during the holidays. These birds are migrating to their wintering grounds on Chesapeake Bay. Migrating during the day and night, their trumpeting calls are heard at a great distance as they fly along in V-formation. The swans can achieve speeds up to 100 miles per hour with a tail wind. Enough factual stuff. This particular group actually sticks around the area through December performing at various Holiday events. On many evenings you can find these guys hanging out with a Partridge, some Colly Birds, French Hens, Geese and a couple of Turtle Doves at one of the local saloons on the Wisconsin side of The River. The dancing and milking chicks along with those leaping lords do their thing to the piping and drumming on the Minnesota side. The last time they all gathered in the same joint all hell broke loose. One of the leaping lords got goosed and a turtle dove got shelled while some of the maids got tangled up trying to milk the bagpipes. Since then they are only allowed to get together for performances of their signature song and then for no more than twelve days. Then it's "take your gold rings and get outta town!". With that explained I'll pack up my bag of goodies and head off to wonderland for a dose of hot chocolate and some of the leftover cookies Santa couldn't finish.

Easy to see how a mistake could be made in a dimly lit bar!

Chex Mix Roasting on an Open Fire........

In our home nothing signals the start of the Holiday Season than the aroma of well seasoned Chex-Mix floating through the house on a crisp winter day. (Not counting adorning each and every window with candles) This year is no different. Except! That little wisp of aroma had a little more pungent flare to it. Like a good steak, Chex-Mix should not be cooked "well done". Seems that the new more powerful microwave is going through its first Holiday Season and doesn't quite know how to act in the face of good cheer. But have no fear all of you spicy finger tipped friends who hope to partake of the year's vintage. There is plenty of medium to medium well Mix to go around. Now, I'm not a big Chex-Mix snacker, (it don't mean a thing without that chocolate zing) but it does stir fine Holiday memories. Let me try to explain this. Experts may not agree on the accuracy of my account but, "who's telling this story?". Back around 1894 a couple of guys down in St. Louis introduced a hot wheat based breakfast cereal which was originally called Hot Ralstons. After some time people got lazy and didn't want to take the time and effort to heat up their morning mush so the guys at the St. Louis headquarters cooled things off by introducing an easier to prepare cold cereal that they called Shredded Ralston. In 1937 they changed the name to Wheat Chex. (a couple of years after I was named Ronald) The Chex name probably was derived from their St. Louis home, Checkerboard Square. About 10 years later the cousins, Rice Chex and Corn Chex arrived on the scene. As a kid I really liked Wheat Chex. That covers the Chex part of the story. Now the Mix. A major reason that I, and thousands of kids like me, gulped bowlful after bowlful of Wheat Chex was because of the endorsement of a great American cowboy hero of radio, movies and comic books, Tom Mix. Through ads in comic books and on his daily radio show Tom urged his loyal fans to eat Wheat Chex and grow up to fight evil like him. (The evil was mainly in the form of rustlers, bank robbers and ferocious injuns) And, as an incentive Tom offered numerous trinkets that could be obtained by merely sending in a few thousand Wheat Chex box tops and a dime or a quarter. Kids my age spent a great deal of time eating cereal and waiting by the mail box. So, that's the reason that the scent of Chex-Mix filling my home brings a tear to my eye. (expect this year when the smoke actually brought the tears) Chex that enabled me to keep our yard free of rustlers, bank robbers and ferocious injuns and the Mix in memory of my Ten Gallon Hatted Hero Tom. Here are a few pics to back up my story. And a little jingle that incouraged all us younguns.

Shredded Ralston for your breakfast Starts the day off shining bright;
Gives you lots of cowboy energy With a flavor that's just right!
It's delicious and nutritious, Bite sized, and ready to eat
Take a tip from Tom: Go and tell your mom:
"Shredded Ralston can't be beat!"

Checkerboard Square.
Oh! Did I mention that a lot of our four legged friends
grew up on Ralston Products?

Typical magazine ad for Shredded Ralston.

A man who needs no introduction!

Some of the fine, quality prizes that every
Red Blooded American boy could not live without.