What Do You Remember About 4th Grade?
I’m talking specifically about school, but liked that picture so much I used it anyway. Is it real? I don’t think he’s going to make it. And ol’ Hangover Johnny over there on the porch needs to step in. Right? In any case, do you have any interesting memories of 4th Grade? I do, and they’re predictably weird. Why don’t I remember the normal, wonderful times? It’s always with the fucked-upness… And I break it all down for you in the latest episode of The West Virginia Surf Report podcast, available at the magic widget below, or wherever you get podcasts. Oh, it’s out there, insinuating itself into polite society. Check it out!
After this week I won’t be working many 5-day weeks for the remainder of the year. There might be one or two in there, but it’s mostly 4-day extravaganzas, on account of my need to burn vacation time before the end of the year. It’s great! I just took many Fridays and a few Mondays, here and there. And I have nothing planned, except I might go to Cooperstown with Steve, to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in early November. We used to go yearly but got out of the habit. I’m pushing to get it started again. Other than that… just long, glorious weekends! I’m a confirmed fan of the long, glorious weekend.
And for Thanksgiving, it’ll be just like last year. I snapped this photo when dinner was ready on Thanksgiving 2018. I’ll have to discuss it with Toney, but I’m thinking that this year we’ll just sit it in the middle of the table, rip off the top, and eat straight out of the box. Or maybe just pass the box around the living room, and not even bother with going to the table. It’s still a work in process. I’ll keep you updated.
It’s been years in the making, but I finally finished watching The Fugitive TV show. Season 4 was wildly uneven, and not as much fun as the previous three seasons. So… I started it many times and kept throwing in the towel. But I wanted to see how they wrapped it up and wasn’t willing to just jump to the final two episodes (parts I and II). Those episodes were a huge deal when they were first broadcast, and are still among the most-watched scripted shows in history. Here’s a good article about How The Fugitive’s Heart-Pounding Finale Changed TV Forever. Awesome!
David Janssen, who masterfully played Dr. Richard Kimble aka The Fugitive, died young. And this incredible paragraph from his Wikipedia page blows my mind every time I read it. Check this shit out:
A heavy drinker and a four-pack-a-day smoker, Janssen died of a heart attack in the early morning of February 13, 1980, at his home in Malibu, California at the age of 48. Janssen was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. A non-denominational funeral was held at the Jewish chapel of the cemetery on February 17. Suzanne Pleshette delivered the eulogy at the request of Janssen’s widow. Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Tommy Gallagher, Richard Harris, Stan Herman, Rod Stewart, and Gregory Peck were among Janssen’s pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers included Jack Lemmon, George Peppard, James Stewart, and Danny Thomas.
My first thought: four packs per day?! Sweet sainted mother of ol’ Hangover Johnny! Also: based on the rest of that ‘graph, it was clear the man ran wide-open. Johnny Carson… Rod Stewart… Gregory Peck… Milton Berle… I feel like he had some fun in his short life. What do you think? Incredible.
Finally, I’m still in mourning about being jettisoned from the Amazon affiliate program. Ugh. I don’t even want to do the Now Playing In The Bunker thing anymore, but… at the same time, kinda do. So, maybe I’ll just put the cover up and not link to it? We’ll see how that goes. Not sure if it’ll work out long-term. But we’ll give it a shot. As I wrote this update, I was listening to the first Pretenders album, from 1980. One of the all-time greats!
I’m calling it a day, my friends. Don’t forget to share your memories of 4th Grade in the comments. Or whatever else you want to discuss. It’s all good. Mostly, anyway. I think I’m going to go upstairs now and make a ludicrously-large ham sandwich and go all David Janssen with it. No half-stepping, in tribute to the master!
Have a great one, boys and girls.
I’ll be back soon.
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