Meandering

1,000 Words - Old Days

Tue, January 10, 2012

Well, the original of this posting went over 2,300 words back on March 22, 2009 and even that was an abridged version as I could likely have rambled over the 3,000 mark.  I’ve done my best to pare it down but be warned that we will wander into family, sports, books, movies and tunes alongside the particulars of the adventure.

This photo is easily the most ancient of this series.  It was taken in November of 1976 during part of a two day trapping/coon hunting outdoor adventure.  The location in the picture is Henderson Creek in Warren County somewhere near Angling Road, southeast of Alexis.  The sheer number of outdoorsmen (and boys) that took part goes a long way towards making this a classic.  My Uncle Dick was the photographer and those in the picture are as follows: front row from left to right are Brad Burt (Uncle Dick’s nephew), me, Ronnie Van Fleet (my cousin) and Greg Smith (Uncle Dick’s nephew), back row from left to right are Bill Burt (Uncle Dick’s brother in law), Dad and Jody Jackson (Uncle Dick’s son).  The dogs are Buck and Susie from left to right.  Also included on the adventure was a friend of Dad’s named Bob Coe who joined for the coon hunting portion.

Having been rather young at the time, I have only vague memories and had to recruit Dad and Uncle Dick for some help for this one.  From their collective input it seems that the agenda began with the crew setting some traps in Pat’s Creek and Henderson Creek.  We then returned to The Big Timber which would serve as our home base for some supper, apparently chili or stew that required only a fire for final preparation.  The evening culminated in a group coon hunting excursion with a couple adults herding us kids back to camp before the rest of the coonhunters called it a night.  Accommodations were an old machine shed with evergreen boughs covered with canvas tarps to serve as makeshift mattresses.  Blankets and sleeping bags rounded out the setup as a final barrier between the adventurers and the elements.  The following morning, breakfast was donuts or rolls before heading out to run traps culminating with this picture of our load of fur.

Gimme Shelter - The Big Timber Motel

Were that all that this photograph means to me, I would fall well short of my “1,000 Words.”  Although my memories of this specific moment in time are mostly lost, the photograph represents other memories that were a substantial slice of growing up.  Tastes and interests influenced by several of my fellow adventurers remain with me to this day and are being passed down again whether intentionally or inadvertently.  Dad and Uncle Dick are no doubt at the top of the list and their influence runs through all of my past articles and will continue to surface as long as I keep writing.  So, for this posting, I’ll focus on two of my fellow “youngsters” in the photograph (although it’s funny to think that I’m now older than any of the grownups were at the time).

First up is my cousin, Ronnie, decked out in his Oakland A’s jacket that I thought was just about the coolest coat around in the heyday of some outstanding Oakland clubs that were put together by a brash and sometimes bizarre owner, Charlie Finley.  Joe Rudi, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Bert Campaneris, Vida Blue, Gene Tenace, Billy North, “Blue Moon” Odom, “Catfish” Hunter and Rollie Fingers with his unforgettable trademark handlebar mustache were the stuff of legend even to a youngster that was genetically predisposed to be a Cubs fan.

Ronnie was like another brother and we spent weekends and summers getting up to various hijinks. Both of our homes were located near Cedar Fork, a creek (rhymes with stick) that snakes its way through Galesburg and provides ample opportunity to explore and make a mess.  We were also frequent visitors to the neighborhood groceries for sports cards of all seasons and Saturday morning donuts when finances permitted.

Music and baseball ruled the summer.  We consumed a steady diet of pop and rock, enamored by hits such as “Rubberband Man”, “Why Can’t We Be Friends”, “The Things We Do For Love”, “Lyin’ Eyes”, “Rhinestone Cowboy”, “Convoy” and “S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night.”  We tagged along with Dad to softball games, celebrated my birthday in the July heat, played baseball all day with my younger brother, Brent, as designated hitter and eagerly awaited the arrival of the MLB All Star game where all of our heroes gathered.  Willie Stargell, Johnny Bench, Lou Brock, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Tom Seaver, Jim Rice, Robin Yount, George Brett, Carl Yastrzemski, Rod Carew; maybe I’m just getting old but today’s prima donnas don’t hold a candle to the legends of my childhood.

My cousin, Jody, was eight years older and at times seemed like more of an older brother.  He introduced me to a wonderful 70’s and 80’s sampling of the arts.  Literature included Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars eleven book series, which was originally published in 1917 (Burroughs is perhaps better known for creating the enduring character, Tarzan).  I also became acquainted with hobbits, elves, dwarves, orcs and a myriad of other assorted characters when introduced to J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle Earth.  Jody also boasted a comic book collection that rivaled my baseball cards, but I had to pass on adding another hobby that Mom and Dad would have probably indulged even if they couldn’t afford.

During the early 80’s I tagged along to a number of movies such as “Blade Runner” (1982) and “Escape From New York” (1981).  Three others remain among my all time favorites to this day; “An American Werewolf in London” (1981), “The Thing” (1982) and “Excalibur” (1981).  Music was also a shared passion and Jody and his sister, Julie, turned me on to some of the Top 40 hits of the day.  For some reason, “Billy Don’t Be A Hero” and “Band on the Run” stand out in my mind along with the risqué (for a kid in 1974) novelty hit “The Streak.”  AM radio dominated the airwaves with Chicago’s WLS 890AM leading the way in our neck of the woods.  On New Year’s Eve we’d gather around the radio for the highlight of the year, “The WLS Big 89 Countdown.”  The WLS roster featured Larry “Uncle Lar” Lujack, John Records Landecker and Tommy “Little Tommy” Edwards along with spots such as “Boogie Check” and “Animal Stories” where I’m sure much of the humor went right over my head. 

Jody also informed me that the strange song that sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before was called “Bohemian Rhapsody,” whatever that meant.  Later I remember listening to his recently purchased copy of Double Fantasy, John Lennon’s 1980 return to the music industry, released a mere three weeks before he was assassinated outside of his New York City apartment building.  “Watching The Wheels” remains one of my all time favorite songs to this day. 

Well, for today, my “1,000 Words” (and then some) certainly wander from the outdoors.  However, they do serve to explain some of my philosophies, tastes and pursuits via a photograph for which I have only fleeting memories of the accompanying adventure.

It’s important to take time to include the next generation (now it’s my turn to set an example).

I much prefer outdoor activities to being cooped up inside (writing helps me pretend nowadays).

Baseball is still “America’s pastime” (despite not taking very good care of itself).

There’s nothing like getting lost in a good book (they’re always better than the movie).

A good movie never gets old (but read the book if time permits).

I’d take tunes over television any day (hence a home with rabbit ears, one TV and half a dozen radios/CD players). 

I’ll leave you with a few lines from the 1975 Top 5 hit, “Old Days”, another of my all time favorites, courtesy of a band that was formed in The Windy City and eventually named itself after the hometown of WLS; Chicago. 

“Old days, good times I remember,
Fun days, filled with simple pleasures,
Drive in movies, comic books and blue jeans,
Howdy Doody, baseball cards and birthdays,
Take me back to a world gone away,
Boyhood memories seem like yesterday.”

A few simple lines say it just as well as 1,406 words.  Oh, to be a songwriter. Talk to you later.  Troy
 

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