The Torch Continues to Pass

Just a week and a half ago marked the fiftieth anniversary of an event most of us would just as soon forget about.
I was not alive on Friday, November 22, 1963, when teletype bells rang wildly at radio and television stations and newspapers worldwide.
After forty-six-and-a-half years on this planet, John Fitzgerald Kennedy's life ended as a bullet entered his skull in a motorcade along Elm Street near Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, Texas.  It is still vividly remembered today by those who were around back then when the tragedy occurred, and the circumstances surrounding it are still being hotly debated.
Was President Kennedy one of the greatest presidents of all time?  Or has history made him larger than life because of his death at a young age and at the hands of an assassin's bullet?
Depends.
Without a doubt, he was the most popular president among the baby boomers.  To them, he represented their generation, hungry for change and demanding an end to the American lives lost in the Vietnam War.
His then nouveau-riche family, today lauded as a political dynasty, afforded him many opportunities other Americans could only dream of.  Nonetheless, he was touched by the poverty in Appalachia that he witnessed firsthand as he was campaigning for the highest elected office in the United States.
He felt that communism had to be brought under control, and to be done without any further casualities in Vietnam or elsewhere overseas.  He urged America's space program to commit itself to a successful manned lunar mission by the end of the 1960's.  He felt that federal intervention was necessary if racially-motivated violence in the American South was ever to end.  He and his wife brought a contemporary flair to the Oval Office, often keeping company with the likes of Truman Capote, Marilyn Monroe, Vince Lombardi, Barbra Streisand, Oleg Cassini and countless others.
While many of his goals were ultimately realized, albeit posthumously, his administration had its share of challenges.
A failed invasion of Cuba intended to topple Fidel Castro's regime.  A showdown with Russia over atomic weapons that brought the world the closest it's ever been to a nuclear holocaust.  Managing poor health while trying to appear at the same time strong to the rest of the world. Whispered marital infidelities that the press largely turned a blind eye to.  Accusations of nepotism over the choice of his brother as Attorney General.  The death of his infant son.  Overzealous organized crime investigations that historians believe led to his murder.
His successor, Lyndon Johnson, a man with whom there was no love lost, tried his best to move the country past the tragedy with The Warren Commission investigation.  The finds were for the most part, laughable, at best, and were all but discredited following committee hearings in 1976 and again in 1992.  To this day, no true and definitive answer surrounding Kennedy's death has ever come, nor does it appear to ever will in this writer's lifetime.
I have researched John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy family since the age of ten, when I first learned of the tragedy in fifth grade Catholic school.  It had a profound effect on me, and I made the most of every opportunity to read everything I could on the subject.
After thirty-four years, I too am no closer to an answer.
Until the day comes when we have a definitive answer, I say this:
"Thank you, Mr. President."


NEXT WEEK:  Thanks...???

"Get a Horse!"

Trucks have long held a place in my immediate and extended family.

Growing up in rural western Pennsylvania, either my dad or a close relative had a pickup truck of some sort, usually a Chevy.  

We looked at trucks as a necessity the way horses were looked at during the days of westward expansion in this country.  With western PA's rugged hills and unpredictable winter weather, a four-wheel-drive pickup was necessary if you were to depend upon it to get to where you needed to go.

This was also in the days that pre-dated all-wheel-drive cars and SUVs.  The first of the four-wheel-drive passenger cars, the AMC Eagle, was often looked upon as a hopelessly ugly piece of machinery that despite its inherent reliability, most people wouldn't want to be caught five-years-dead in.

Nonetheless, the humdrum marque gave birth to the mass-produced front-wheel-drive passenger car, at the start of the 80s and then the sport utility movement that rose later in the decade and continues to dominate the auto industry today.  

Then in the 90s, something unthinkable happened...women began buying pickup trucks.  To the point where Ford began a 'Splash' edition of its Ranger compact pickup line targeted to women, featuring colors like bright yellow and turquoise, with "Splash" accent striping on the sides of the bed.  Automakers took notice and began building trucks with comfort in mind, in addition to payload and other specifications that typical truck buyers were keenly aware of.  Option packages with power windows and door locks, cruise control, air conditioning and even leather seating areas became popular among the consumer pickup truck market.
My own pickup is special to me for a couple reasons.  I have owned pickup trucks in the past, but they were kept strictly as a secondary vehicle, most often used when I had to haul something, and more often than not, looking like something you'd see on camera during an episode of "Duck Dynasty".
A former colleague of mine at another radio station remarked how much of an eyesore it was when I drove it to the radio station while my main vehicle at the time, a Dodge Stratus, was in the shop with an engine problem.
After he said it a second time, I jokingly threatened to park it in front of his house, as he lived in a more affluent neighborhood and I knew exactly where he lived.  He never razzed me about it again.
My Dodge Dakota was also my first-ever 'brand new' vehicle, and today it's my 'daily driver'.  I take care of it, but it does get used for its intended purpose.
My dad kept his 1990 Chevy Cheyenne until the end of its life in 2006, when the frame finally bit the dust after years of hard use.  Though his 1995 Chevy Suburban gets him where he needs to go, he found himself missing his truck, though I've offered mine time and time again.  Then I received the call from Mom last Sunday morning, asking me about my daughter's clothing sizes for Christmas, and...if I would mind driving my dad to Valencia, where he bought another pickup...this one, a 2004 F150.
Valencia is about 20 minutes away from my house.  Not a problem.


NEXT WEEK:  Fifty Years Later

Keep Reaching for the Stars

For four hours every Saturday morning, he kept listeners around the world entertained with his weekly countdown of the "forty most popular songs in the land".

The gravel-voiced Detroit native of Lebanese descent didn't spend too much time in radio just north of Detroit in Flint, before being drafted into the Army, and then moving to the West Coast after his discharge, making a name for himself on Armed Forces Radio during his tour of duty in Korea.

He would bounce between coasts before landing at Los Angeles AM rock powerhouse KRLA in 1963, before the launch of nationally-syndicated "American Top 40" in 1970.   He would go on as the program's host until 1988, when he was replaced by Shadoe Stevens, and would return a decade later and host the show for another four years, when Ryan Seacrest assumed the role.  He would host several other nationally syndicated programs until retiring from the mic for good in 2009.

I haven't named this guy, because if you don't remember him on the radio, you would on Saturday morning television.  He was the original voice of  "Shaggy" on Scooby-Doo, and "Robin" on Superfriends.

Kemal Amin Kasem.  Better known as "Casey".

Casey stands alone in the history of Top 40 radio, as did Dick Clark in the early days of rock 'n roll.  His long distance dedications effectively connected him with his listeners, rather than the detachment his peers favored, often pushing off fan mail to answering services, or simply never read.

Casey valued his fans, and would have preferred to go on forever.  Unfortunately, the heavy hand of time shows no mercy on any of us, regardless of stature or wealth.

Casey is no exception to this, and it was made public in October, following a lawsuit by the esteemed disc jockey's caregiver that was ultimately dismissed.  His three children from his previous marriage are also petitioning the court for the right to visit him, as Jean Kasem, Casey's wife of 33 years, has reportedly blocked all such attempts.  Casey, now 81, signed over power-of-attorney rights to Jean in 2011.

This has all but ripped a family to shreds, as the radio icon battles advanced Parkinson's disease, and the loss of the voice that drew millions to their radios every week.  Reports have also surfaced that Kasem is battling Alzheimer's disease, but the family has yet to confirm this.  Other reports of elder abuse, thankfully, have been found to be baseless.

It's terrible to see the ramifications of aging on a family, divided over a loved one's best interests.  More so, think about how much it goes on every day in our society with families of the not-so rich and famous.

I hope that Casey and his estranged family members will find a common ground and come to a truce so that he can live his last days in peace before leaving this world.

Until then, I'll continue to keep my feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

You taught us that, Casey.  The importance of staying grounded no matter how far you go in this life.

You didn't just teach it, you lived it.

Thank you.

NEXT WEEK:  Keep on' truckin'

Fall of the Season

Now I know why it's called 'fall'.  It's the fall of summer...summer fun, vacations, and all the niceties of warm weather give way to the time of the year that's about as predictable as a Kardashian marriage.
At least that's the case here in western Pennsylvania.  It's one of those regions of the country where kids wait at the bus stop in mukluks, yet pack the flip-flops in their backpacks necessary for the drastic temperature change by 10am.
Never mind the time change that went into effect this morning, which resulted in our daughter racing into the bedroom at 6:30, because we forgot to set the clock in her room back an hour.
This time of year hit home for me on a recent Sunday, as I was watching the Steelers-Ravens game with my family, and a local weather report came on. The forecast called for snow later in the week.
That Thursday, I woke up to see frost on the ground.  My wife had elected to fire up the furnace on Tuesday.  I went to bed Wednesday night with the thermometer cowering at 33 degrees.
Now comes the time for decisions to be made.
What to get Margie for her birthday, as it and Christmas are pretty much back-to-back.  Making time for Savannah's annual Christmas program at preschool.  Knowing when to pull the mower deck off the tractor and replace it with the snowplow blade.  How much money to set aside for Christmas gifts.  Countless others.
Though I am very much a warm weather person who often laments over missing the warmth of late summer and early fall on the Carolina Coast, I can bask in not forgetting some important aspects of this time of year.
Snuggle weather. Margie and I enjoy cozying under a quilt on the couch as we catch up on our TV watching from earlier in the week.  Her making Christmas cookies with Savannah.  Me making Coq Au Vin on Christmas Eve.
Oh, yeah...deep fried turkey too.  I do make a mean deep-fried turkey.  Or so I've been told.
Then Thanksgiving, a little over three weeks away.
I have to say that 2013 has been a year of challenges for me personally and professionally, but I'm still thankful that it's another year that the Good Lord has allowed me to spend on this side of the soil.
I've been able to spend more time with my daughter, look challenges in the face and overcome them, rather than allow them to overcome me, I've spent more quality time with my dad thanks to a boat rebuild project that got underway in early spring, and still managed to find time to take the annual family vacation to South Carolina.
There's a lot of be thankful for.  Not just on Thursday, November 28th, either.


NEXT WEEK:  Feet on the Ground