That was the T-shirt I thought I’d see on sale today 24 hours after the Earthquake we felt (just barely) yesterday.

The Quake centered in Virginia, rattled several biulding in and around the Washington DC area even causing a crack to form in the Washington Monument.

      Now I’m sure for those peoplewith in like 50 miles of the center of the quake experienced some sever shaking and damage to property, and for that I’m sorry, you hate seeing anything like that happen. But for the rest of us did we really have to act like we did? I MEAN REALLY!

       Ok yes I’m another one of those California people who’s experienced earth quakes and have seen the damage they can do. But please folks if you are from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and states to the north like New York, what we all felt was a bout the same as if a train or a big truck went by your house! And yes I understand if you’ve never felt a quake before it can be a little exciting. But if this brought on fear and dread and you had trouble sleeping last night i just want to tell you to STOP ALL THAT!. My god the City of New York actually had a press conference to let the world know that everything thing was ok there and people could stop panicing and go back to there homes and BACK TO WORK!

       Look I agree that Earth Quakes can be frightning and devasting. But there is no reason to freak out of feel scared. Bottom line is there is not a damn thing you can do about them, your just a human being living on a volatile planet that could shake us all off of it anyday it wants. When the big one comes, i mean IF the big ones comes to the east coast, it would be good to know what to do during a earth quake and how to survive one, so I can agree with that. But if you ever act like this when you feel a slight vibration, please seek help right away!

http://redd.it/jsxu0

It was a great week off this past week. So much so that it didn’t even make coming Back on Monday to much of a pain in the ass. Vacation can be many things, but one thing it has to be for me these days is slow and relaxing! Sure we like to go see things and do special stuff when we go away on vacation, I’m not saying I ‘m not a fan of a trip like that, but sometimes, like this time for me, you just need peace and quite and a slower pace for a few days.

         It’s funny I actually got up earlier than I do during the work week, but the difference is, afternoon naps, no rush to be somewhere and going to bed without your head racing and no chance of turning it off! So I ended up getting alot of rest.

         But my favorite part was just hanging around enjoying the view the people watching and to wonderful company I had. Well that and all the good food Iate!

       All in all it was a wonderful week off, and I’ll head off into fall a little more refreshed and ready for whats a head on the calendar. Oh but Labor day is just 2 weeks away, yes! more nap time coming!

I was watching the news last night and I don’t know why but it just seemed like weirdness abounds this summer. 1st America’s Credit rating dropped below AAA for the 1st time in our History. I don’t know what that means for all of us, but my gut tells me it’s not good!

      Then as I watched a little more I saw  the police bomb squad in Spartanburg, blowing up a strange back pack on a freeway overpass sign, Then a spare tire popped off someones car and hit another causing a accident, and a tractor trailor ran into a over pass on I-85!

         Then the international news comes on and they are rioting in the sreets all over England and it’s been going on since Saturday! Why you ask? Well i asked the same thing and I find out that the police shot and killed a man last week and it was an accident but it upste the  people of his neighbothood and they busted out rioting. But why would all these other areas of London and now in places throughout the country go nuts? Thats the question. Some say it’s a chance to protest the economic conditions in England, while other just see it a great chance to blow off some steam and maybe grab some free stuff while they smash innocent peoples store fronts and homes!

      Now before we going pointing fingers at the English, I’d like to point out that these same things have happenhere in the States a few times in my life time atleast. I remember watching The smoke rise from downtown Detroit as a little kid and asking my dad why are people doing that to there own town and neighbors, he said a police officer had beatin up a man downtown and the mans friends were very upset. Those riots in 1968 left the once great city known then as the Paris of the midwest with horrible scars and it marked the beginning of the mass exudous of people from the city out to the suburbs, as the City of Detroit began to die from the inside. I know there have been many other riots in places like Chicago, L.A. New York, and we’ve had so many racial clashes throughout or countries history too, but the Detroit riots were right in my back yard and seeing what became of the city and it’s people because of  1 bad cop and his lack of self control, well it’s one of the sadest moments in American history. And as I see all these idots burning buildings down and stealing things from stores I can’t help but wonder, what will happen in those areas after it’s all over. And it all started just like it did that hot muggy night in 1968 in Motown I hope London and these other cities in England enduring this craziness will have a better future than we had in Detroit!

take a look at how your fellow man deals with there problems

http://www.google.com/search?q=london+riot+pictures&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGIH_en&prmd=ivnsu&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=RrhCTpLpHuvjsQLM_-HkCQ&ved=0CDsQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=827

Yes that magic phrase that I love to hear my Girl Friend say as she puts together another incredible dish for us to enjoy. Baby your Talents go far beyond you amazing Soprano singing voice, that can bring an audience to there knee’s, and your  sick skills in the card game Uno, where you just mop the floor with me, yes the Shrimp Scampi you made the other day was of hall of fame quality! 

        And  after a little of this and a little of that, Here comes another NFL season. This years free agency Frenzy has been nothing short of  awesome. It has been so much fun for the fans to watch all these roster moves and how they have had what seems like automatic impact on the quality of many teams. While some teams stayed put and just signed the players that needed to be resigned other made themselves contenders over night while others (I won’t mention Miami) maybe misunderstood that this was a chance to make your team better not expose your weakness to the whole world right before the season. I feel for you Fin fans and for all you Bengal and Redskins fans. Damn your out of it before the first game has been played. Hey I can relate as a person who has been a Lions fan all his life, believe me I know how painful it is to go into each season already to give up!

      Now I’m not sure  if it’s been a little of this and a little of that, thats made this such a damn hot summer, and I’m trying to get into some big enviromental debate here, but wow it’s been freaking hot.  I’m just glad I’m not in the lower midwest , Texas, or the Southeast either. Although most places in the south are fully equipped to handle the heat, think about what it feels like in the upp midwest like Michigan, where even today many homes don’t even have air conditioners, heck I can remember as a kid how we didnt even have it in our cars! Thats would be insane these days! But hey the other side is that Places like Michigan have so many wonderful cool watered lakes it’s not hard to find a nice place to cool of just about anywhere in the state. Man I’d love to sailing up to Mackinaw Island right now getting ready to leap off the boat into the chilly waters of Lake Huron, oh yes I still miss that about my Michigan. But then I remember that same spot in the lake I could snowmobile over in just 5 shorts months, and I’m happy to be right here in South Carolina!

     GOOD GOD IT’S BEEN HOT OUT!, Sorry just had to get that out.

       Hey I just want to thank each and everyone of you who listen to and support my show every afternoon! You made it the number one show in the Market again, and that can’t happen unless you are listening, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making it another great year for me here at Rock 101 WROQ! I couldn’t be any more lucky than I am to have such a great job and great listeners/friends out there!

        I don’t think anybody could be more happy than me about the return of the NFL. There was a part of me that thought, “what am I gonna do without football?” Sure college football is great and I do enjoy it very much. But my true guilty pleasure is the NFL. I’m addicted to the NFL REDZONE and can’t waqit to just plop down in front of the Screen and take in 17 weeks of wide open NFL action, and with all the changes of players going to different teams and the short time frame teams have to get ready, this could be the most insane season ever. The whole league is wide open, well that is except for you Bengals fans, Wow a team/owner so messed up that your Quaterback would rather quit the game then play for you! I mean when you got those uni’s and an owner like that, I’m suprised more players havent walked away from that team! I really feel for the fans there, it’s like being held Hostage!

      Oh I wanted to share some music with you. I was watching the Movie CASINO last night for the 100th time or so, and very faintly in the back ground I heard this song  that I had not heard in years, It’s by the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, its an old Blues tune called “I ain’t Supersitious”. You want to hear why some many people say Jeff Beck is under appreciated in the music world. but why other think he’s one Sick  Axe man, well check out this clip below from youtube and see what you think of JB then!

<iframe width=”425″ height=”349″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/-YxpDEpngko” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

I will fondly remember this year as the year I went back to the big shows. I have spent so much of my life listening to and enjoying live music. Especially the past several years through my show fresh tracks, I have spent many nights enjoy great local and national  bands, at small local venues around the upstste. One thing I had kind of pull back from was the big Arena show and out door shows in the summer. But this year has been different. With so many bands getting towards  the age where they might not be on the road that many more times, I decided to catch some shows I would probably not gone to just a few years ago.

       I felt like I was to old or I’d seen so many concerts over the years that I just didn’t have the interest. It wasn’t the shows themselves as much as it was the Hassle. The drive, the crowds, the heat, and all the other crap that seems to come with going to a big show. But for some reason, this year it just seemed like the right time, also having a girl friend who’s big into alot of the classic rock bands that are touring these days has helped alot. Her enthusiasim has been infectious, I’ve found myself really enjoying the whole “mob mentality” again. Being a small part of a huge crowd all doing the same thing at the same time, not even thingking about the facts that you and your clothes are soaked in sweat, your ears are screaming and you are surrounded by crazies spilling 10$ beers all over themselves and you as the crash face first into the grass in the lawn area!. I let me say this too. I dig the lawn seating, you sometime there’s a very special artist you want to be closer too, Like Def Leppard, my GF adores them and just had to be close to “her Boys” as she refers to them! She had the time of her life and you know what, I did too not only did the band suprise me, but watching her have such a good time, well I couldn’t stop smiling!

          Look I’m no spring Chicken and i have back and leg problems that make it hard to just get through a day sometimes. But to all my fellow middle age rockers let me say this, pop a few aleeves, drink a whole bunch of water and give a good old fashion  rock concert a try once in a while, heck take the ear plugs too, that kind a helps with the screamers that might end up near you.

         I just figured something out this summer, I’m still NOT TO OLD TO ROCK!

Well it’s been one of those stretchesin life where I’ve been reminded several times that im getting old. I Get those little fellas at the grocery store who ask”can i help you to your car with those sir?” and I think, what the hell are they asking me that for, and yet I think that would be nice cause my backand shoulder won’t hurt after i get to the car from carrying them myself! Or I sometimes I just think it’s to much of a hassle to get up early on the weekend and put on my swim suit and lay out at the pool. Just seems like to much effort for nothing.

       It seems like there isn’t a day where I don’t wake up and have  ache or a pain, or a sore spot on my body that wasn’t there, or how it seems like slip on shoes aren’t such a bad ide. Am I getting old or just tired?

        I think  it’s a little of both. I mean I’m not a spring chicken anymore and after a life of being a clutzy accident prone person who’s broken lots of bones,had a host of injuries pages long, suffers froma variety of allergies inner ear problems, infections, and various other strange afflictions I guess all those things have taken a toll on me. I kind of half expected the physical problems to become a issue at this point in my life. But why am I so Menatlly and emotionally tired? Some people are more sensitive than others and I would say I’m in that catagory. I would also say I’ve been one of those people who is easy to take advantage of and I can’t seem to toughen up and be more of a fighter for myself. I’ve been screwed over and taken to the cleaners more times by people than I can even count. I don’t mean to be that way, Ijust don’t like to fight and get into confrontations all the time I don’t seem to stand up and fight for things like I’d like to be able too. But one big reason is that the few times I’ve tried be my own advocate I seem to make things worse for myself even though I’m in the right I end up on the short end of the stick. I can never seem to win a battle  even when I’m in the right.

      Ok well you all must think I’m one pathetic self absorbed whiny ass hole reading all this. just saying life isn’t always what you make of it, and fighting for what you believe in doesn’t always make scense and I finally have started to understand why some people become cynical and mistrusting of there fellow man as they get older. They have plenty of good valid reasons to feel that way. I think we should all try not to feel that way, but I’m closer to excepting and understanding those who do feel that way!

     It seems funny that the College world series just ended and it’s not even allstar w/e yet in major league baseball and we all are just a little worried that we might not have Pro Football this year.

       Yes both sides have been talking and meeting secretly for the past several weeks. And neither side has come out in the press bad mouthing the other side or threatening to break off the talks, but despite all the optimistic  talk,I still feel a little worried.  All it could take is one thing, one tiny issue and this whole thing could fall a part.

         I have been impressed with how smooth things have gone and the way both side seem to really want to resolve the issues and get back to playing football, but all the silence just make me nervous. I guess we are so used to hearing bad mouthing and accusations fly between owners and player for so long that this quite ,secret stuff is a little strange.

         I sure hope I’m wrong. And I think we will all know alot more after the 4th of july weekend. Thats when it starts to get a little dangerous. We will be only a couple of weeks away from training camps opening, and with not rookies or free agents signed it’s going to be very tough for teams to prepare for the season. I agree I could care less about exibition games although it’s just nice to see football coming even if its meaningless games i still get excited knowing the season is coming.

      So all I ask is PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE players and owners get this deal done. I really don’t want to think about a fall without Pro football, it’s one of my great distractions and I don’t know what I would do without it! Sure it’s just a game, but man I do love it. And I’m about to get burned out on the NFL Networks old films and games, we need the real deal SOOOOOON!

I’m probably the last person to be talking about being a sore loser, or a pour sport! My whole life as an athlete, and as a fan is riddled with examples of taking losing a little to seriously. Hey I grew up in an area of the country known for turning a car or two over even when we’d WIN a championship!

      But after watching the behavior of the Hockey fans in Vancouver after they lost the Stanley Cup to Boston last night, well I want to say I’m sorry to all the people( fellow players,referee’s,opponents,fans and family) who I’ve yelled at,blamed,taunted,chewed out,and acted like a total tool too over the years! If I acted anything like the people in Vancouver than I have no choice but to say I’m sorry! Good lord, I can remember throwing balls at ref’s for bad calls,using my mouth as a weapon spewing evil towards anyone  around me while i was competing! Fighting, on the field, and yelling at my own coaches! And as a pro sports fan, I’ve got story after story of my anger getting the best of me,and the shame and embarasment that would follow! Hell I even stopped watching the Red Wings in the playoffs until they tied the series with San Jose cause I couldn’t stand watching them lose to a team they were better than! So I guess I still have it in me.

     But I can tell you this THERE IS NO WAY I’D GO OFF FIGHTING COPS, BURNING CARS, BREAKING WINDOWS AND JUST GO ON AN ANGER BINGE LIKE THE PEOPLE DID IN VANCOUVER LAST NIGHT! Well I say that but I think the only reason I wouldn’t behave like they did is I’ve become lazy in my old age, Oh and of course I finally learned that my anger causes me nothing but trouble! So I just want to say to the folks in the great white north, yes losing sucks, but not as much as going to jail, going to court, hiring a lawyer, paying huge fines,and having the whole world see you act like that! Ok so it took me 50 years and a Wonderful Patient Girl Friend to figure that out. And I’m pretty sure i’m passed it now…I think? Check out the link below if you want to see what Canuck fans do when they lose!

http://deadspin.com/5812503/they-rioted-in-vancouver-last-night-eh

     It’s like winning the lottery or having sex, It doesn’t happen very often in my life, but when it does I have to celebrate the moment. Thats how I feel about this week! It was just a great week all the way around. No big conflicts, no bad news letter in the mail, no threatening e-mails,no confrontations with people,I mean it’s been a great week!

     Ohio State keeps tumbling down the hill of college football and this Wolverine couldn’t be more happy, they got Terell Pryer to come to Columbus, and we got Denard Robinson, it sure looks like we got the better of that deal now!I got to sit in a suite for the Rush Concert and it was the best show I’ve seen in a couple of years!  I had a great interview with Derek Trucks that will run this Sunday night on Fresh Tracks. Everything I cooked at home this week came out good, I even had couple a few good nights sleep this week. Now this was a week that started out with me having a deeply embedded sliver in my heal, and two nights of no sleep at all,but after that things just went well. No, not great, not huge, not the best, no just a nice smooth peacful week, which I wouldn’t trade for anything these days. Heck I felt so good starting my friday that even a screwed up order from McDonalds din’t upset me, well ok maybe just a little! Now if the Yankee’s can sweep the Indians and help out the Tigers,  and if my girl friend comes to town to suprise me and I don’t get to much sun this weekend, then this could quite possibly be one of the best weeks ever! But then again there’s still two long days ahead that could ruin everything. AHHHH LIFE, ain’t it a kick in the groin!