On A Pale Horse

I moved out of my parents house when I was 19. For a few years there I worked at a bakery so my diet consisted of bagels, donuts, left over soup and an occasional sandwich. I got HUGE. I finally wised up and quit that job and it was ramin, rice and frozen veggies there out. The Jolly Green Giant was a fixture in my freezer for a long time. It was cheap, reasonably healthy and didn't require a lot of thought when it came to meal preparation. My freezer so packed with bags and bags of frozen veggies that I swore I heard that damn "Ho Ho Ho Green Giant" jingle each and every time that I opened the door.

The guy that was the voice of the Jolly Green Giant passed away. His career didn't just involve voice work for cartoon pitchmen but he also was a singer that toured in various stage shows and showed worked on variety shows until his retirement in 1991.

Mr. Dresslar passed away from cancer.

1925 - October 25, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1925 births, 2005 October deaths, cancer, television

In the summer of 1985, while away at summer camp, I had my one and only big sister. Her name was Laurie and she had to be the sweetest person I’d ever met in my whole life with an incredibly angelic voice. I wrote my mom and dad about her and they wrote back that they couldn’t wait to meet her. You can’t imagine how excited I was when Parents Day rolled around and I pointed her out when she sang the National Anthem at the Swim Show, I didn’t realize my parents’ jaws could drop that low. To me Laurie was the best-est person in the whole world; to my parents she was black.

The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 just 8 years before I was born. I know attitudes don’t change over night but every once in awhile my parents or grandparents will say or do something that blows my mind and that at one time in America it was all perfectly normal. It’s just the color of skin we’re not that different underneath it all.

Right down the road we’ve got The Henry Ford Museum that proudly displays the Rosa Parks Bus and patrons can walk through and see that a little place like that made a huge difference in the lives of so many people.

As a side note, I was in Atlanta on Monday for business. A co-worker, from Michigan, and her date, a local resident, were giving me the nickel tour showing me the sites. One thing that kept on coming up was that the city was still really segregated, and even some of her date’s comments were archaic. Pretty mind blowing.

Mrs. Parks made her home in Detroit in 1959 and worked for Congressman John Conyers. She passed away Monday, October 24th

February 13, 1913 - October 24, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1913 births, 2005 October deaths, activist, historical, natural causes, political

I have a sweat fetish. I know, I know, that's pretty damn nasty but we all have those little things that gets us off, don't we?
Over the course of many years I've developed a discriminating nose for sweat and I must say that basketball players have THE best sweat of them all, followed closely by hockey players. And wouldn't you know it, I loathe both of those sports. Go figure.
Which means that I probably would have appreciated Jason Collier but scent but wouldn't know who the hell he was if he passed me in the street.

Mr. Collier started his NBA career in 2000 when he was drafted out of Georgia Tech. He was most recently playing with the Atlanta Hawks.

He passed away from cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital.

September 8, 1977 - October 15, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1977 births, 2006 October deaths, cardiac arrest, sports

In the summer of 1982, because of a serious ‘dysfunctional family moment’, my mom decided to send me to summer camp rather then drop me off at G&G B’s house. At the time I thought it was the absolute worst thing a parent could have done to a child, how dare they dump me off in the middle of god-knows-where Michigan for 8 weeks while they get to have the entire house to themselves for the summer. After being there for two weeks I couldn’t understand how I was going to go back home. Summer camp was a blast. Over the course of the next 6 years I did so many things during those 8 weeks a year that would make my parents cringe that they spent that much money.

One of the more legal things I did was learn how to ride horses, English Style, thank you very much. The first horseback riding class of the day were for the advanced riders, I moved up to that class after my first summer & half and never looked back. I think I could spend the rest of my life on the back of a horse, cantering through the woods, jumping over downed trees, giving a loose rein over a cold brook. The stable was fairly new structure, clean and study. There were two things hanging from the wall: a diagram of a horse and a piece of fly paper. I always dreamed of having my own stable with a couple of horses with a small office off to the side done up in greens, blues and brown leather and a bunch of riding trophies on one wall and paintings of my horses on the other. Assuming that this dream came true that would mean I would have a boat load of money to spend on painting, which would mean that I would have asked Richard Stone Reeves if he would honor me with portrait of my precious animals.

Richard Stone Reeves was the premier horse painter. He’s career started in 1947 by painting a portrait of the Horse of the Year, Armed. This portrait appeared in Life magazine in 1948 and commissions and a career followed from there. (Couldn't find Armed but here's Kelso)

Mr Reeves passed away on October 7th in Greenport, NY

November 6, 1919 - October 7, 2005

Labels: 1919 births, 2005 October deaths, artist, undisclosed causes

I was 7 years old when ‘The Muppet Movie’ was released. It was summertime, so guess where I was, when my dad called up and said he was taking me to the movies; not only was it a weeknight but my dad was coming over to see me!!! I ran over to my Aunts house, who was on the opposite side of the block screamed that I was going to the movies and that I would say ‘hi’ to the Swedish Chef, because he was my Uncles favorite Muppet. Daddy picked me up and we drove down to the theatre across the street from Eastland Mall only to purchase tickets to Superman. I sulked through the whole movie. I wanted Fozzie Bear not Kal-El.

Jim Henson was not the only man responsible for creating the Muppet empire. Jerry Juhl joined the Jim Henson Company in 1961 and was a writer for Kermit, Gonzo, et. al. from Sesame Street & Fraggle Rock right up to 1999’s ‘Muppets From Space” and won two Emmy Awards for his work.

Mr. Juhl passed away September 27th from complications from pancreatic cancer.

July 27, 1938 – September 27, 2005

Labels: 1938 births, 2005 September deaths, cancer, television

I have a thing for schmarmy guys, you know, those guys that leave an oil slick behind them when they walk, the kind of man that is crafty but a bit on the stupid side. My dating history is filled with schmucks like this and it's no wonder that some of my favorite movies include guys like this. Charles Rocket played a great schmarmy guy in movies such as Dumb & Dumber, It's Pat(i), Earth Girls are Easy and one of my all time favorites How I Got Into College. His career started in the 1970's with a stint as a Colorado newsanchor and then got his big break as the second generation of castmembers on Saturday Night Live. His claim to fame on that show was dropping the 'f' bomb on live TV (video) he was fired shortly after this uh-oh.

Mr. Claverie took his own life on October 7th by cutting his throat.

August 27, 1949 - October 7, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1949 births, 2005 October deaths, comedian, suicide, television

I love, I love, I love the movie “Heaven Can Wait” mostly because Warren Beatty played a soprano saxophone…my dream instrument - that was before Kenny G hit big. Yes, I do realize I was a band fag.The movie was pretty good – it was littered with so many ‘name’ actors: Beatty, Buck Henry, Jack Warden, James Mason, Dyan Cannon, Charles Groden and Hamilton Camp.Camp was one of those actors whose face you know but the name escapes you. He did many voice overs in movies like Doctor Dolittle, All Dogs Go to Heaven and The Pebble and the Penguin and played in numerous movies over the course of his career his latest movie, Hard Four (trailer) will be released later this year. His talents also included being an accomplished folk singer & song writer.

He passed away from a heart attack.

October 30, 1934 – October 2, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1934 births, 2005 October deaths, actor, heart attack

My favorite thing to watch nowadays (besides bad amateur porn) is the Game Show Network. I love it when they show all the cheesy 1970’s B&C list celebrities spouting off answers to inane questions. I know, I know, there are still many celeb’s doing the same thing but they’re not quite the caliber as Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Charles Nelson Reily & Mr Nipsy Russell.

I don’t want to remember Mr. Russell for his performance in ‘The Wiz’ but for his poetic answers to such questions as ‘Mary, Mary Quite Contrary couldn't make her garden grow with water, so she used *blank* instead (courtesy of IMDB) and in ‘Car 54, Where Are You?’ & ‘Wild Cats’.

Mr. Russell passed away from stomach cancer.

October 13, 1924 – October 2, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1924 births, 2005 October deaths, actor, cancer, comedian

I attended EMU for a few years when they were the mighty Hurons before everyone started dumping the Native American mascots. My second year there I hooked up with this guy named Bob, let's just call him Booby for short, his roommates/suitemates were WAY into the Ouija board and we spent many a night getting inebriated and talking to the spirits….oooooooOOOOOHHHHHH
We were so blasted one night that we were able to get ‘Somnus’, the spirit, to take over J’s body to talk to us directly. The spirit told us that we had all known each other in previous lives and that we were all involved in one way or another with Detroit’s own Purple Gang running booze in the 1930’s. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated with organized crime and the Purple Gang specifically.

Albert ‘Caeser’ Tocco took over Chicago Heights Mob boss Al Pilotto’s Union and Outfit interested when Al passed away.

I found this one site detailing one of Mr. Tocco’s alleged exploits.

BETTY TOCCO maintains they were killed by her husband Albert,
Laborers’ officials Nick Guzzino and Dominick Palermo and a fourth Mob guy,
Albert “Chickie” Roviere. The Spilotros were brutally beaten nearly to death
with baseball bats, then thrown into a shallow grave off Route 41 in Northwest
Indiana, where they died as their assailants buried them. Then, Betty Tocco
says, the killers split up, leaving Albert Tocco without a getaway car.
Her husband called her from a phone booth about a mile from the farm field
where the Spilotros were buried. Then, almost before Tocco could ditch the dirty
blue work clothes that he wore for the killings and burial, the farmer who owned
the field found the grave and alerted police.

Although the Betty Tocco version of the Spilotro murders has become fairly well known in law
enforcement circles, no charges have ever been filed in connection with the deaths of the Spilotro brothers.

If this all sounds familiar to you that’s because the story was depicted in Martin Scorsces movie
Casino.

Mr. Tocco was sentenced in 1986 to a 200 year sentence for racketeering, extortion,
conspiracy and fraud.

Mr Tocco passed away September 21st after suffering a stroke. It's worth mentioning that three prominent Chicago city figures attened Mr. Toccos wake an alderman, a department head and a member of key city committee. All three officials admitted that they were there out of personal respect and no indication that their positions within the city were compromised.

1928 - September 21, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1928 births, 2005 September deaths, criminal, stroke