All Hallow Even'

                                                Future Ute wide receiver Carter Filion and his old bishop. 
                                                                                Former Bishop

                                                 - Hair over ears

                                                                 - Cheap sun glasses

                                                                 - Scruffy beard

                                                                 - Crumpled blue shirt

                                                                 - D.I. reject tie

                                                                 - Jeans, no belt

So we can blame everything on Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruits and seed. She's the root for our passion for celebrating All Hallow Even.'
Tooele shares in the responsibility of turning Oct. 31 into the second most successful retail holiday. What once was the largest grocery store in town is now 'Halloween City.'
I love everything about Halloween, including dressing up, scrounging candy and watching movies that keep me awake when the lights go off.
Chubby kids dressed as princesses, babes clothed as witches and children bouncing off the wall as they recover from an o.d. of sugar amuse me.
It started back at Central School when we would get the afternoon off to parade down Main Street and then play dopey games. That sure beats Dick, Jane, times tables and verb conjugations.
Of course those activities were just a prelude to the true meaning of Halloween: Tromping across Highland lawns to collect as many pounds of sugar laden goodies you could physically haul in a faded pillow case.
Peace, love and all that Jazz,
Charlie

The power of negative thinking

                                                    Ed tries to understand the Animals.                        
This morning at Gold's fatness center I listened to a healthy list
of "Don't" songs on my fake i-pod.
Here are the titles of the negative command tunes:  
- Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (The Animals)
- Don't Cry Out Loud (Melissa Manchester)
- Don't Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston)
- Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight (James Taylor)
- Don't Let Me Down (Beatles/Past Masters)
- Don't Look Back (Temptations)
- Don't Pass Me By (The Beatles/'White' Album)
- Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police/1978)
- Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police/1986)
- Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac)
- Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)
- Don't Stop Me Now (Queen)
- Don't Take Your Guns to Town (The Man In Black)
- Don't Worry Baby (Beach Boys)

Whew, that's enough to make Norman Vincent Peale get kind of cranky.

Peace, love and all that Jazz  

                                               Man, that was a depressing song.

'73: My perspective

                                        "It's just a third-rate burglary. I promise."

Janna and I just returned from the movie "Secretariat," which we both enjoyed.
Back in 1973 Secretariat won the Triple Crown and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Here are some additional memories from that fateful year:
- Since I failed to register for the draft on my 18th birthday I found myself explaining this situation to the the local draft board. "Yes, the formal peace agreements were signed on Jan. 27, and American troops  are leaving Vietnam; but, Mr. Roberts draft registration is still the law. Register or you'll find a U.S. marshall on your doorstep." Ooops.
- Three weeks after getting stomped by Cyprus in a dual meet, THS swimmers win Region and hand Coach Roberts his first of umpteen (and counting) region crowns.
- Five Tooele High seniors get hired at the newly constructed LDS Church Office Building and the original TCP Tooele Car Pool forms. They make $1.75 an hour (6.6% above the minimum wage of $1.65). Since gas was 29.9 per gallon the trip to SLC was worth it. TCP consists of Super Stan, Skid, Spence, Wasso, Mumbles Black and me.
- The colorful cast of characters from Class of '73 receive THS diplomas. Well five of my buddies were 'excused' from the ceremony following an interesting weekend nighttime activity in the halls of the high school.
- The Senate Watergate hearings dominate daytime TV. It cured insomnia for most, but I loved those afternoons.
- I find myself at BY Academy on the 7th floor of T-Hall.
- H.B. Lee sends a letter saying I'm headed to Nawth Caralinee to make friends with Lew Hansen.

Plunging into Facebook

                                          And if you do everything your coach says, you'll be a champion
                                                 just like your big brother.
   
A few weeks ago my son Levi told me, "Dad everybody is on Facebook. Everybody. Everybody but you and me."
For 55 years I've practiced marching out-of-step to various flutists.
But I now plunge into World of Facebook among a guzillion friends.
I add this inclination to a healthy list of these broken "That's not for me thoughts."
2002 - I don't have time to golf. I'll never have time to golf. " Golf has since grown from hobby to passion to serious addiction.
1999 - "There's too many places in the U.S. to visit. I see no reason to ever travel overseas." Then Janna and I fell in love with our Sister City Kambarka.
1996 - "Well, I never be a state bureaucrat." I actually said the first day on the job as mayor while opting out of the state retirement system as I completed personnel papers.
1977-1989 - "I can't imagine why anyone would ever run for public office." That thought crossed my mind at nearly every city council, county commission and school board meeting I covered for the Transcript.
1977 - "Hey Janna, let's have 12 kids." After a third of a century we're halfway there.
1969 - "Why should I swim butterfly? My brother's a breaststroker and I'm a breaststroker. I've been a breaststroker my entire life." I then spent four years swimming 'fly at THS.
1968 - "I'll only date girls my height or taller." Janna's 5-2.5 when the tide is high.
As I tip-toe into Facebook waters I feel that queaziness that I experienced when I first entered Mrs. Fleanor's first grade class. I've now officially joined the crowded field. I envision my Facebook comments being supplemented with this weekly blog.
Peace, love and all that Jazz. Charlie