Going Strong At 90--Happy Birthday, Brakeman Bill!

With so many of the great local characters slipping away from us, it was great to read Brakeman Bill's 90th birthday.  Bill McLain had a children's program in the 60s and 70s on KTNT which later would become KSTW.  Because the Tacoma based station had no network affiliation at the time, it was broadcast in cable across the state. 
Brakeman Bill would wear overalls and a hat reminiscent of a train worker.  His sidekick was a hand puppet named Crazy Donkey. 

Clear Summer Nights

Clear nights in Maple Valley reveal a beautiful crescent moon.

Washingon Enacts Tough Crack Down On Distracted Drivers

Will it make driving safer or is it an overreach? Washington's new distracted driving law can be looked at from 2 perspectives.  While most people agree that texting or looking at your phone while driving is dangerous to both the driving and other vehicles, drivers are no longer allowed to hold a cell phone, drink coffee milk or juice, smoke a cigarette, or fix their make up. Many people think that the law has gone too far.
While drivers will say that it goes too far, the intent is to make the highway safer.  People need to remember that when you drive, your not only responsible for your own safety, but the safety of your passengers and other drivers and pedestrians.  It also means when they say "don't drink and drive", it means to not drink anything when you drive.

50th Anniversary--Summer Of Love

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the "Summer Of Love".   It is a period that in retrospect, would define the decade.  It may be the most polarizing times in our nation's history next to the Civil War.  The Viet Nam war was raging and with TVs in every living room, the horrors of war were brought home. 
Many disaffected youth headed for the parks of San Francisco, where they grew long hair, did drugs and listened to rock music. 
There were many different things that were going on at the time that from an outside perspective, would tend to be lumped together.  It was for the most part, the beginning of the "counter culture", Hippies gathered all over the country, but the central spot seemed to be the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco.  Bay area based bands like the Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead became popular.
 Of course, the Beatles at that time, released "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", a total departure from anything that group had done.  As a matter of fact, there had never been any work quite like that album.  It gave birth to what is known as a concept album. Songs that can be fit together to tell a story or reflect an idea.
People remember the Summer Of Love with either affection or disdain, depending on their perspective.  Celebrations have been taking place in San Francisco with exhibits and events.

Dasher And Doll

Both Dasher and his toy are in a nearly identical pose.

Celebrating A Mariner Win

Reporter Angie Mentink and Mariner Ben Gamel are soaking from a Gatorade shower after Gamel scored the winning run against the New York Yankees in the 10th inning.

On Our Deck

This gas fueled fire pit was a 60th birthday present from family and friends.

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 18--Mariner Crew Gets Sack Of Onions

KTEL carried the Seattle Mariners games in the their early days.  They also carried the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Super Sonics as well as Wa-Hi sports and occasionally, maybe WWCC sports.  When I worked at the station in the late 70s, Bevan Roth was the salesman and engineer. 
Bevan had been there since the 50s and he was a huge sports fan.  He would get his name (and the station's name) on the Mariner network by bringing a bag of Walla Walla sweet onions (known as Walla Walla Sweets) to the team  broadcasting crew(at that time, Dave Niehaus and Ken Wilson) when attending a game in Seattle. 
I think that he continued to do that after he left the station. 
In 1980, I worked for KNOI in Pullman and they also carried Mariner Baseball, Roth, at that time, worked for KEXI, a Milton-Freewater Oregon station.  Once again, I heard that Roth had brought the Mariner crew a bag of Walla Walla Sweets.
Many years later, I got to meet Dave Niehaus at the Fred Hutchinson Luncheon.  I asked Dave if he remembered Bevan Roth.  He sure did.

The Jet City Players

More McMenamins

I love the way the property is laid out.  There is plenty of outdoor seating. Something unique to the Seattle area.

Memories Of The '60s--The Beatle Cartoon

So most people my age may remember The Monkees TV show, but how many remember that The Beatles had a cartoon series.  It ran from 1965 to 1969 on ABC TV.   Reruns later ran on MTV in 1986.
The speaking voices of the 4 Beatles was provided by two voice actors.  The songs were real Beatles songs.  The band itself was not involved in the project, although their voices were used in the previously recorded music. 
The show consisted around two episodes, each framed from a Beatles song. There was a "follow the bouncing ball" singalong in the middle.  The intro to each show played their music while the group was depicted running from it's crazy fans.  A phenomenon we know as Beatlemania, which was rampant at the time. 
The Beatles were reportedly initially not fond of the TV show, but later came to like it.  The cartoon, I believe, went a long way toward cementing the band's place in American culture.  Most of the Beatles songs that I knew were the ones that I had heard on the cartoon.
The Beatles would eventually release the movie "Yellow Submarine" which was also animated.

Larry And Diane Rock At Mike's 60th

Bellevue Crossroads UPS driver Larry Hays arrived at my birthday party with guitar in hand along with his friend Diane, who belted this Janis Joplin tune.

More Of McMenamins

There the grounds of McMenamins are really neat. Tavern On The Square is the prime eating spot.

Jet City Players Headline 60th Birthday Surprise

Thank you to my brother, Danny for this great picture!   My wife drove my to the Bothell Village for what I thought was dinner with my in-laws.  I was determined that it would be a quiet dinner.  Boy, was I wrong!
Yes, my in-laws were there, but so were my brothers and friends as my wife had planned a surprise party.  She told me that she had planned it for months. 
The Jet City Players performed, they are a danceable pop band with a rock edge.   The lead singer is the lovely Marcie J.  We were also treated to Larry Hays playing guitar while his friend, Diane sang some rock and roll.  A great time was had by all.
Deb and I spent the night at the Bothell McMenamins Anderson School. 

McMenamins Anderson School

A great place to stay! We spent the night here after last night's party.

Summer Breeze - Seals & Croft #1 Hit(1972)

Enjoy your summer!

Maple Valley's Lake Wilderness Elelementary

School is out for the summer and apparently, the originally structure for Lake Wilderness Elementary School is gone forever.
Students will attend classes, starting this fall, in a new facility, which I believe is seen in the background.
Things work quickly in the Tahoma School District.

Heritage Distilling--BSB

The radio commercials say "you can't spell baseball without BSB".  Heritage Distilling commercials have been all over the radio. Heritage Distilling is one of the vendors at Safeco Field where the Mariners play.
  BSB stands for "Brown Sugar Bourbon". I am not a bourbon drinker, but I decided to try BSB when we attended the game last Sunday. I had it mixed with club soda and it was real good. 
On my next visit to a Mariners game, I hope to bravely try the grasshoppers.

Mariner's Cano Is All Star Game Hero

Robinson Cano's 10th inning home run propelled the American League to a 2-1 victory in the 2017 All Star Game. The Seattle 2nd baseman joined Ken Griffey, Jr and Ichiro as the only Mariners to be named MVP in the mid-summer classic.  Cano has been battling injuries this season as has the Mariner's other all star, Nelson Cruz. This year's game was played in Miami.

Maple Valley Council Discusses Golf Course

Maple Valley's city owned golf course may be in for some changes.  The Covington-Maple Valley Reporter said in an article that Lake Wilderness Golf Course that improvements to the facility were discussed at the Maple Valley City Council's June 26th meeting. City Manager Laura Philpot reported that the course is now breaking even.
 It is now the only course within the city limits.  The restaurant on the course, reportedly, is losing money.  That is no surprise as the city and nearby Covington have seen a flurry of new restaurants.  Changes discussed have included upgrading the course and making the restaurant available to only golfers using the course at the time.

Happy Together Tour

The Cowsills rock Snoqualmie Casino.  The Turtles will headline.

The Turtles

Howard Kaylan now a Seattleite, actually for many years a resident of the area, performs for his adopted hometown for the first time in years.  The Turtles once again headlined the Happy Together Tour, which this year also featured Ron Dante (voice of the Archies), The Cowsills, The Boxtops, The Association, and former 3 Dog Night singer Chuck Negron.

The fun took place at Snoqualmie Casino.

Go M's

Felix Hernandez is on the mound for the Mariners and I just missed a foul ball.

Celebrating 22 Years!

Today is our 22nd anniversary. Deb and I married at the Grand Atrium at the Washington Mutual Tower  in Downtown Seattle on July 8th, 1995.

Friday Night Entertainment

Issaquah is rocking to Fade To Black at Pogacha's.

Old Tri Cities Radio

Jaynie Jones posted this on Facebook.  From the Vintage Tri Cities page, the KALE news car.

The Rocket's Red Glare

We watched fireworks yesterday on the shores of Lake Sammamish.

Cool Dogs

Dasher hunts for a ball, while friend Charlie watches from the shore on a sunny 4th of July.

Happy 4th Of July

A Beautiful Summer Day

Mt Rainier adds a lovely touch to this picture taken in the 4 Corners area of Maple Valley.

Housesitting At Lake Sammamish

Watching Dasher's buddy Charlie on the shores of Lake Sammamish.