I Sure Do Miss That Band...

Just south of the old Opera House, Lagoon has put up several pictures showing the park through the century. And except for the fact they removed a photo of some very handsome--and young--Wild West Shoot-Out stuntmen, I love checking out the pictures. Everything from 1970 forward is very familiar to me. I think I spent more time at Lagoon growing up as a kid than I did at home.

Since everything has to change, many things I see in those pictures I miss--none more than the Lagoon Show Band.

I snapped a picture of the band on the wall of photos. I even recognized several of the band members. I played trumpet, then baritone in jr. high school, and even though I never continued, I knew many of the band members at Davis High. Since it was the closest high school to Lagoon, many of the musicians came from Davis. 

Boy--I miss that band!

They were fantastic!

Even though they were wacky and fun and crazy and goofy, they were above all very talented musicians. I had many friends from Woods Cross High School in the band and they had a great music program beginning in their jr. high schools.

I did a quick Duck Duck Go search to see if I could find any old pictures of the band. I found something better--an 8 1/2 minute video from the old KSL Dimension 5 program. You can see the entire video by clicking: HERE. If you remember the Lagoon Show Band, I highly recommend you click on the link and check it out. It's great. You might even see musicians you know. Also, you get to see glimpses of what Lagoon looked like in 1980.

I've worked at Lagoon for the past five seasons. I think it would be difficult--and extremely expensive--to bring back the band, but if they did, I know I'd be happy.

Happy Birthday...College Football!

Apparently, it's a birthday, but not for a person, or a country, but a sport. One-hundred and fifty years ago today two college teams competed for the first time.

The result: Rutgers beat New Jersey (now, Princeton...) 6 - 4.

According to NCAA.com, the game was much different than what we see on Saturdays (and sometimes, Fridays, Thursdays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays...). Rutgers and New Jersey actually played ten games--if you scored, you got a point, then a new "game" began, hence the 6 - 4 score.

Flash forward a century and a half and we have a multi-billion dollar industry. We have dreams fulfilled and dreams dashed, fanatical fans ecstatic and fans heartbroken, legends made and players forgotten. I never attended a college football game until I was in college. It wasn't a tradition for my dad to take us--he had passed long before. I never had that connection that some have.

But, I did go to many games while I was a student (probably because they were free...). I went to several games as an Aggie. They were not a good team back in 1984. I went to several games as a University of Utah student in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Once again, the teams were no where close to the caliber of team Coach Whittingham has now.

Since it wasn't a tradition going to games as a kid, taking my own children to games is not something they've grown up with. I don't know if the Taylor fandom will end with me. It's possible--my kids are more into electronic sports than "on the field" sports.

I wonder what the next half century will bring, or the next century. Will the game transform as much as it did when it was first played November 6th, 1869?

Time will tell.

Who Knew...Gobbles Could Be Worth A Fortune?

 

No...

Um, no...

Just no.

Since today was my first day back to work since before Halloween, I put away my one Halloween desk decoration, and got out my one Thanksgiving desk decoration, a cute little Beanie Baby named Gobbles.

The reason I have Gobbles is two fold. It's a great Thanksgiving decoration, but he (I'm assuming it's a "he"...) and I share a birthday. I have no idea if the company made 365 different Beanie Babies. If so, everyone would have one that shared their birthday. Gobbles is mine--a fine choice, if I don't say so myself.

 I don't have a lot of Beanie Babies--I'm no collector, but every once in a while I like to do a little research on the ones we do have. Tonight, I thought it would be interesting to check out other Gobblers out there.

And I don't think there's any way any of them can be worth thousands of dollars.

Yes, I understand that scarcity drives up demand. The Gobbles I found on-line, the "not perfect" ones, have flaws, a typo here, a missing space there. My Gobbles is downstairs on my desk. Of course, I could run down there right now and see if my little guy has the same flaws. I'm not, because even if he did, I have a hard time believing anyone would voluntarily hand over the equivalent of a nice used car for a small plush animal with flaws.

Then again, I'm no collector so what do I know?

Not much, apparently.

If I found my Gobbles to be work thousands of dollars, I'd gladly hand him over, then spend a very small percentage of the profit I made on a regular, non-flawed Gobbles. After all, all the flawed ones and all the non-flawed ones have the same birthday.

Curiosity will drive me to check. Most likely I've got a regular Gobbles. And that's just fine with me.

What Your Dad On His 95th Birthday...If You Had The Chance?

Today, Dad would turn 95. 

And even though he never made it to even 50, it was 95 years ago today he was born. 

Maybe some of you have had the opportunity to ask your father questions on his 95th birthday. Perhaps some of you will have that chance, though not many fathers reach that milestone.

I wonder what I would ask my dad, if I could.

I'd want to know about his childhood. Growing up during the depression, he faced things we can't even imagine. It would be fascinating to hear it from a person who actually lived through it.

I don't know if he'd talk too much about this, but I'd so enjoy hearing about his time as a tail gunner during WWII--what it was really like. Each time I see a movie or read a story about the war, how I would love to hear what he went through. There's so few servicemen left--soon, we'll only have written down or recorded memories of history.

I'd ask my father about the time he was a policeman in Idaho in the 1950s, finding out how things were done, procedures, rules, what it was like being a cop.

I'd ask him about his education, finishing a four-year engineering degree in three.

I'd ask him about what it was like being a local judge and if making those type of decisions was tough.

Since I can't ask him these question, or even his wife--my mom--these things, I have to wonder what he might say. Perhaps it elevates his stature in my eyes--it certainly makes him even more intriguing.

For those of you out there who have their fathers still with them, what questions would you ask? What would you like to know? Some advice--ask them now, before they turn 95.

Speed, + Ice = Car In The Shop...

I didn't hear it. I didn't see it. I wasn't even in the car, mostly because the car's not mine, but my son's. And the mishap occurred while he was driving to work.

That's when, after the first snow and ice of the season hit, my son's car failed to negotiate a turn and the right front wheel slammed into a curb. I've been fortunate enough in my life never to have experienced an accident like that. But, after posting a picture of the damage, a mechanic friend of mine commented that he had five cars in his shop that morning with the same issue. I guess it happens a lot.

If you own a car, dealing with repairs is part of the deal, be it flat tires, oil changes, or replacing a front wheel assembly. My son, who earlier bought an older Toyota, found out that cars can be costly. He ended up selling that car and he bought this Volvo. It's newer, and has given him fewer problems. This time, it was ice and speed (and the lack of traction...) that caused the crash.

We have three cars and four drivers in our house. These are not new cars, but for many on this planet, the thought of having three cars is amazing. Many may never have the opportunity to have even one. Going from three to two until his is fixed is causing us to rethink our schedules. There will be more bus trips, and less trips then general. It's probably for the best, though. How many cars does a family really need, anyway?

In time, the insurance will cover the cost of the repairs and the mechanics will make things as good as new. Until then, we'll get by--just another one of those things that makes life interesting.

Okay...We Can All Breathe Now

Sports are funny things. In a world of "fairness," the same cannot be said of sports. Fair would be the strongest, fastest, smartest, most prepared person or team will always win. Their hard work would be rewarded.

That's not how things happen, though.

Many times, the one who works the hardest is not rewarded with the blue ribbon, the gold medal, the championship ring. It's what makes sports fascinating, infuriating, even poetic and beautiful. I'm glad I haven't been cursed with a desire to gamble on the outcomes of sporting events. I'd lose my shirt.

In my years of blogging, occasionally, I blog about sports and certain games. Unfortunately, I've never been able to blog about one of my teams winning to blue ribbon, the gold medal, or the championship ring. I think our professional soccer franchise, Réal Salt Lake, came the closest when they lost to Sporting Kansas City. Heartbreaking.

But, even when a team doesn't win "the big one," there are smaller battles along the way. Today, the team I root for the most and have spent good money on shirts, sweatshirts, and hats advertising their logo, had one of those games.

Today the University of Utah Utes football team traveled to Seattle to take on the University of Washington Huskies. And even though the Utes have a better record, have one of the best defenses in the entire country, I was still nervous...so, so nervous. 

You can read about the game on the internet, or watch local and national sports clips on TV, and I hope I'm not spoiling anything for anyone (if so, I apologize...), but Utah beat one of their Goliaths, and thus removing one of the monkeys on their backs. Utah left the stadium victorious. 

I've been around long enough and watched enough games to know the final score was never guaranteed. A bad bounce here, a fumble there, an injury, another turnover, and the result could have been much different, no matter how hard anyone worked, or what the stats on paper say. Today, it worked out for my team. Next week, it might not go that way, but for tonight, I can let out a huge exhale--I can breathe again. 

* Photos and videos were used without permission from the U of U, U of Washington, Pac12 or Fox Sports

Time For Doughnuts...

Halloween, in our house, means a couple of things--very few trick-or-treaters, each of us carving our own pumpkin...

And doughnuts.

It's the one time of the year doughnuts are made at my house, and since many in our family have food sensitivities, for some, it's the only time all year they get to actually eat doughnuts.

And, they are good...

So good!

One ingredient we use that helps--coconut oil.

When I worked in an office building, though doughnuts were not as plentiful as, say, candy, doughnuts were found now and again in the workplace. A person can get used to chowing down on a doughnut or five, but when you haven't eaten a doughnut in a year, they taste that much better.

My wife spent several hours cranking out a couple of dozen doughnuts last night. Leftovers are sitting on the kitchen counter right now. Eventually, with five adults and a fifteen-year old in the house, they'll disappear soon. The fryer will be cleaned and put away and it will most likely sit for twelve months until little ghosts and goblins, witches and warlocks, assemble in their search for tricks and/or treats. And once that happens, it's time for doughnuts.