zson and I have competed in several Cub Scout Pinewood Derby events. We had the third-fastest car our first year, largely because I was a Cub Scout and I knew there are a bunch of easy things you need to do to make the car faster, and I suspected that most of the dads had no idea how to use a hand saw let alone polish an axle, and I also suspected that most of the dads are also hyper-competitive type-A nut jobs so they would work themselves into a lather after losing the first year and watch all sorts of YouTubes on how to make these little cars go fast, so I put a lot of time into getting the axles smooth, polishing the insides of the wheels, and getting the car right up to the legal weight limit with most of the weight right in front of the rear axle. As I predicted, the other dads came back with a vengeance after that and bought some woodworking tools (and possibly bought fast cars on the internet, but that's a different story).
This year we decided to chase the best design category instead of speed. zson thought a VW Camper Van would be cool and relatively easy. He was right and wrong, respectively. The project involved two blocks of wood to get the correct aspect ratio, lots of drilling and failed attempts to use Juan Carlos's palm router to remove lots of wood from the middle to get under the weight limit, a little sawing and a lot of sanding. We found some groovy reflective iridescent paper for the windows, printed some Grateful Dead images for the rear, and got a VW logo from a brochure at the local dealer. We were very happy with the results.
We took the first place trophy for design so the judges liked it too. I felt pretty good about my automotive woodworking skills. Then I saw this video.
I hope this guy doesn't show up at next year's Pinewood Derby.
Last month I mentioned an unlikely pairing that "got me right behind the ol' ballpoint," to quote Cliff Clavin: Joe Strummer and Bruce Springsteen.
Today we get another coupling that I missed along the way but definitely should not have.
Clarence Clemons and Jerry Garcia. The Big Man and Captain Trips.
In 1989, right about the time Random Idiots were forming in a College of William and Mary dormitory room, the E Street band was on hiatus. Bruce Springsteen had disassembled them after the Tunnel of Love tour. Speculation was rampant as to whether they'd ever regroup. Most figured they
would, but nobody was sure when... or even if.
So in '89, Clarence Clemons was, as Grateful Dead's Bob Weir put it, "in moving-on mode."
Enter Jerry, who was always on the move. Since the Big Man was hanging around the Bay Area, it stood to reason they'd cross paths, and when they did, they played together. Clemons played a string of Jerry Garcia Band shows and even a couple of Dead-proper shows.
The result was two great tastes that go great together, and you can find a number of these shows. Melvin Seals and Jerry and Clarence... pretty damn good.
As a recent Rolling stone article conveys, Weir enjoyed it.
"Clarence was an old pal, a soulful bro. He was a good hang. Back in the late Eighties and early Nineties, he was living out here in Marin County. He was in moving-on mode, and he, Jerry, and I mixed it up a bit. We were dropping by clubs like Sweetwater and sitting in with various bands.”
I'd love to be called a "good hang" by the likes of Bob Weir, or any of the gheorghies, for that matter.
And if them playing music together wasn't entertainment enough, imagine if this had happened:
“Jerry and I were both single at that time, and Clarence suggested the three of us move in together and have a bachelor pad,” Weir recalled bemusedly. “Jerry and I almost went for it. It would’ve been a lot of fun, but I don’t think anyone would have survived. Jerry was in good shape, but we were doing a little drinking.”
Anyway, it's a fun pairing. I saw the JGB at Merriweather Post in September 1989, just missing one of the shows where the Big Man joined them. There was a lot blowing my mind that night; who knows, perhaps Clarence Clemons walking on stage might've done me in.
A few months back, the 9/16/89 show from a Chicago suburb was formally released, and I've been letting it play for a spell. Find it: GarciaLive Volume 13: September 16th, 1989 Poplar Creek Music Theatre. Speaking of released, their take on "I Shall Be Released" is pretty much nectar.
Here's a cut. They love each other, or at least it sure looks that way in the photos.
and here's Clarence with the Dead in Oak-town, closing out the show...
There was talk of CC joining the Dead, but they were a democracy, and since some members hated saxophones, well... there it went. The E Street band rejoined Bruce a decade later. Happy to say that I caught a trio of shows from the '99 reformation, one with our Boss-lovin' chum Earl Lloyd.
The world misses Jerry, and Clarence, and Earl. May you all have music and memories to rock your soul.
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
I may not do this enough every day, but today is certainly a day to think of others.
The Islanders (not the hockey team), Texans (not the football team), and Floridians -- especially GTBers traumatized by 100+ mph winds and storm surges taller than Gheorghe Muresan. God bless.
Mexican earthquake victims, just the latest natural disaster to plague the planet's inhabitants. With more such events to come along soon, sadly and assuredly.
All of these catastrophes remind me of two things. Weirdly.
One, the line "we care a lot about disasters, fires, floods, and killer bees. Faith No More.
The other is Gheorghe Carlin's typically irreverent take on our planet and those who would assert it needs saving. It's all good Carlin, but jump to 6:30 for the best.
Well, there's a slew of Mother Nature ass-whippings taking place out there this week, and I am hopeful that casualties are few and far between. It does seem like Irma could have been far crueler to the Gulf Coast (thus far). At least compared to what was "forecast" from the meteorologists. The weather folks appear to be chucking darts at a board for their predictions, now more than ever. Actually, Dave throws darts far more accurately than they predict weather.
Me wishing good things for those that have endured these irrevocably life-changing disasters doesn't really do a whole lot, as our curmudegonly fratre Malone posted this weekend (see meme at right).
As such, for those that are inclined, click on this link to go straight to the Red Cross donation site. I will make a donation so as to not be a total hypocrite. Or give blood. I'm Type O+ so they need my blood, amazingly. It's more pure than in the old days, so I give every few months.
Anyway, today is September 11, so there's more to think about. This morning 16 years ago a lot of things changed for the worse. This far removed, it remains important to keep the spirit of fallen brethren (and anyone who perished that day) alive. We frequently highlight our friend Lud, in part because he always seemed to think of others first, and because the elder GTBers were simply much closer with him, his sister, and his parents. For sure, never let the vitality of Mark Ludvigsen ever fade.
At the same time, it's just as important to remember that, accordingly a school official, six undergraduate alumni of the College of William & Mary died in 9/11, and three of them were members of our fraternity separated by just six years. Uncanny. Crappy.
In addition to Jim Connor '85, a resident of Summit, NJ at the time, we lost Mike Edwards '90.
Scoop, as we called him for some reasons unbeknownst to me, was a couple of years older than Dave, Rob, and I, and he mocked us mercilessly. Deservedly.
It's funny that in college you know someone for just a few years, but because back then we crammed 37 guys into 19 tiny rooms without cable access, we got to know each other -- and our faults -- really well. Of course, then you read someone's obituary, like that of Michael Hardy Edwards:
One way he found joy was through athletics. He was a crack hurdler in college, and he continued to run. In fact, name just about any sport, and it seemed that he did it: golf, skydiving, scuba diving, snowboarding, skiing.
Crack hurdler? I don't even know what that is, but if it's akin to papal elector, I guess that could be right for Scoop. I don't remember him doing a whole hell of a lot athletic, maybe simply because his permanently affixed do-rag and tie-dye don't exude "SPORTS." Anyway, I do like that on a memorial website there is this:
Education:Garden City High School
College of William & Mary
Affiliations:New York Athletic Club (where Lud's memorial service was)
Garden City Golf Club
Hobbies and Interests:
Pi Lambda Phi
running
golf skiing
playing guitar
scuba diving
Special Interests: Scuba Diving, Skiing, golf, the Grateful Dead, Central Park, Cuban cigars, Dave Matthews Band, Allman Brothers, Traveling, his friends, family
I trust that last section isn't in order. Anyway, what I remember most about Mike Edwards is whiling away the afternoons when others went to "class," lounging with a Milwaukee's Best or two and some crap cassette of Hartford '83 or the like. In his honor, here are three shows that we would have enjoyed, each performed on September 11.
Scoop... have one.
GRATEFUL DEAD -- AUDITORIUM, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 9/11/82
GRATEFUL DEAD -- CAPITAL CENTRE, LANDOVER, MD 9/11/87
GRATEFUL DEAD -- WILLIAM AND MARY HALL, WILLIAMSBURG,VA 9/11/73
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