L'Shana Tovah!

My Son The Waiter--Review

I had never heard of Brad Zimmerman, but my co-worker had mentioned to my wife and I how funny  "My Son The Waiter--A Jewish Tragedy" would be, so we decided to watch it at the Kirkland Performance Center last night.
Jewish jokes and jokes about growing up Jewish are one of the oldest forms of comedy and yet Brad makes it work.
The slim athletic looking Zimmerman excelled in sports as a child, but felt that his calling was acting.  He moved to New York and wound up working as a waiter for many years.  The performance, while funny seemed to have a somewhat angry tone and he talked about his favorite and maybe least favorite customers.  Indeed, working in the New York service industry would indeed be a challenge.
He talked about his parents who saw their friend's children become very successful, while he toiled as a waiter.
The show was interactive as he poked fun at certain members of the audience in Don Rickles style, especially picking on a designated "gentile" in the front row.
He made the obligatory mentions of pop culture figures.  Chief on the list of his pet peeves was today's football players celebrating touchdowns.  He referred to Chicago Bear running back Gail Sayers (from the 60s) who would hand the ball over to officials after making incredible touchdowns. Zimmerman said the he doesn't celebrate after making a funny joke, demonstrating with his own version of a celebratory dance that he continued throughout the rest of the show.
Zimmerman had worked with such celebrities as Joan Rivers, George Carlin, and Brad Garrett.
Zimmerman sold his  book (above in my right hand), which he signed for me and other audience members after the performance.

Batman's Burt Ward

Burt Ward, who played Robin and his alter ego Dick Grayson and wife Tracy Ward, address Adam West Day attendees in Walla Walla in a Q And A by videoconference.  Robin was Batman's crimefighting sidekick in the 60s ABC TV show.
In the lower right hand corner is Jonathan Grant, one of the founders of Adam West Day.  Thank you to Amanda of Walla Walla, who attended the conference and took the picture.

Saluting Felix Hernandez

Felix Hernandez To Make Last Start Tonight

Like all great stories, the legend that is Felix Hernandez is scheduled to come to an end tonight.
The right handed phenom who has pitched his entire career with the Mariners, a team that never made the post season during his tenure.
Hernandez, known to M's fans by his first name pitched the Mariners only perfect game.  He has also won the Cy Young Award for best pitcher in 2010.  
He had a section of the Mariner stadium full of fan's known as the King's Court.

In recent years, his production has fallen, last year, he was 8-14 on a team with a winning record.  It was obvious that his best years were behind him.  

Still, we remember the great years and we salute a player whose loyalty to the team,  may have cost him the chance to play in a World Series.  Congrats Felix!

Dave Grosby Retires

Seattle Sports Reporter and talk show host Dave Grosby retired from his regular radio show last Friday.
 Grosby has worked in broadcasting for 29 years, becoming well known reporting sports on KIRO radio before teaming up with Mike Gastineau on Sportsradio 950 KJR.  He returned to KIRO AM when it became 710ESPN, a full time sports station.
Grosby says that he will still be involved with the station in various ways.
Above, Gros is pictured in the top center with the Mariner broadcast crew after throwing out the first pitch at last night's game.  Thank you to Dave Sims (left) for the picture.

Walla Walla's Adam West Day Features Robin

Adam West Day in Walla Walla seems to be thriving and my actually be getting bigger.  The celebration which takes place in West's native town around the time of the late TV star's birthday in mid September.  Super Fan Jonathan Grant along with like minded friends set up the celebration to honor the star who played the iconic role of Batman in the mid 60's TV show of the same name in the months after West's death from leukemia in 2017.
This year, the celebration featured Burt Ward, who played Robin and his alter ego Dick Grayson.  Ward and his wife, Tracy, appeared by videoconference.   Ward told stories about working with Adam West.  Although he appeared invincible on TV, in reality, the first few days of shooting the show would land him in the emergency room frequently.   The Batmobile, the Batcopter, and a number of characters related to the show also made an appearance according to the Walla Walla U-B.

Trip To Spokane--WSU Game

I had a great weekend, WSU Cougars game not withstanding.  We have been invited for years to the WSU Shriner's game where my friend Louie is active in supporting the Shriner's Children's Hospital in Spokane.  
On Friday, I flew with my friends to Spokane  where we got our rooms at the Northern Quest Casino.  We joined friends for dinner that night at Fire Artisan Pizza in downtown Spokane.
On Saturday, we took the one and twenty minute bus ride to Pullman for the game.  We had a stop before we left Spokane at the Shriner's Hospital for a brief presentation.
Upon arriving in Pullman in late afternoon, our group of about 50 began selling T-shirts (above) in the WSU to benefit the Shriner's Hospital.  It has been a 30 year tradition that he has raised money for the hospital.
Last year's Cougar Quarterback, Gardner Minschew (bottom picture), hot off a great game Thursday filling in for Nick Foles of the Jacksonville Jaguars had flown in for the game.  The crowd gave a rousing cheer for the lovable Minschew.
The game was great until our Cougars blew a 49-17 lead over the UCLA Bruins to be defeated 67-63 it was a collapse of epic proportions.
The mood on the bus was rather subdued as we bussed back to Spokane after a game that ended at 11:30 in the evening.
Today, we all flew back to Seattle.

Brock And Salk Will Leave Daily Show

The Puget Sound Media blog reports that Brock Huard and Mike Salk, of  ESPN710 are going to leave the daily morning show and continue on a weekly podcast.
The duo, known as Brock And Salk, have been on the air in this form for over 10 years.
One reason for the change is that both are pursuing new roles.    Huard has joined Fox as a sports analyst and Huard will take on the role of director of programming for Bonneville Seattle, the parent company of ESPN710.

Minschew Mania Takes Place In Jacksonville

Gardner Minschew, who took the WSU Cougars to new heights in 2018, has set a franchise record in Jacksonville by becoming the first rookie quarterback for that team to pass for over 600 yards.
A 6th round draft pick, Minschew wound up taking over for the injured Nick Foles in week 1 of the NFL season.
Reports say that Minschew mania is taking place in Jacksonville, fans are drawn in by his mustache  and charisma, as well as his brilliant play.
The Minschew lead Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 20-7 in this week's Thursday night match.

BOMV Writer Gets Picture On Merch Page And Favorite Blog

Thank you to the Puget Sound Media blog for pointing out that the Ron And Don podcast used my picture to sell T-shirts.
 Ron and Don started a podcast a few months after their addictive radio show was cancelled.  Always wanting to do charitable things for the community, they sold the shirts for a cause called "Charlie's Dinosour", which was set up for police to help disadvantaged children.  When I e-mailed the duo to tell them I had purchased the shirt, they asked for me to send a picture, which is what you see above. They recently put it on their "merch" page, although the picture could very well have changed since then.
To see the great article on Puget Sound Media, click here

Veteran Newscaster Roberts Dies

Cokie Roberts has died at age 75 https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/media/cokie-roberts/index.html
Reports say she had been suffering from breast cancer.

Sean Spicer’s Salsa – Dancing with the Stars

What was this?  I'm going to take heat for posting this, but Sean Spicer, Trump's former press secretary is preaching a much different message then when he held his position in the Trump administration.  It reminds me a little of when Pat Boone showed up at an awards ceremony in Rock And Roll gear.

Good Local Sports Weekend

The Washington State Cougars and Seattle Seahawks both had narrow victories over the weekend. The  Mariners also won a close game yesterday.  Huskies also got a victory.  Sadly, the Seattle Storm was not as lucky, losing to the LA Sparks 92-69 yesterday.

Seahawks Face Pittsburgh

Eddie Money w Ronnie Spector Solid Gold 1986 Take Me Home Tonight

In memory of Eddie Money!

Eddie Money Dies

CNN reports the death of pop singer Eddie Money at 70.

Larry And Diane Help Celebrate

Larry And Diane perform beside a piano and a picture of Lillian from days gone by.  About a hundred people dropped in on the 100th birthday party of my wife's grandmother, Lillian's 100th birthday party at the Sunrise of Redmond, which is actually in the heart of Bellevue.

Remembering 9-11

Happy Birthday, Lillian!

My wife's grandmother turns 100 today!

Burl Interviews Brother Stan

Burl Barer interviewed his brother, Stan on the subject of US trade with China on this edition of True Crime Uncensored.  Click Here.

Walla Walla VII--Tri Cities On The Way Home

On Sunday, we headed back with a stop in Tri Cities.  We had a reservation at one hotel in Kennewick, but it was not really to our liking so we moved to The Lodge at Columbia Point in Richland where we spent the night.
We really enjoyed the waterfront trail behind the hotel that afternoon and firepit on the grounds that night

The Tri Cities,  is just an hour from Walla Walla, but growing up in Walla Walla, it was almost like a world away. The three adjoining towns, at that time, each about the size of Walla Walla, "combined" to make a larger city.  It had an active youth culture with 4 large public high schools, many movie theatres, waterfront parks, and a large shopping mall, known as the Columbia Center.  Sometimes, Walla Wallans referred to it as the "Dry Cities" because of the desert atmosphere, but I think there was also a hint of jealousy.  

The next day, we visited the Bookwalter Winery and Barnard Griffin, where I tasted, leaving the driving to my wife. We also stopped at the Treveri Cellars in Wapato. 

Walla Walla VI--Dinner At Whitehouse Crawford

I had been dying to try the Whitehouse Crawford Restaurant in downtown Walla Walla.  We finally went for the first time last Sunday.
 It is a dinner only upscale restaurant in a restored former sawmill.   Whitehouse Crawford was tied to a lumber yard across the street and the Tum A Lum Lumber yard on West Main.  The Walla Walla based company once had 50 lumber yards across the Northwest, including Bellevue and Renton.  Today, there are three remaining yards, all in Oregon.
Our next door neighbors on Palouse Street were part of the Crawford family, heirs to the founders of the company.
Back to the restaurant, Deb and I joined Marjie and Rick, along with my brother and his wife and had a wonderful dinner.

It's Blue Friday

Seahawks season begins Sunday.  Today is Blue Friday as Seahawk fans will wear Blue to support the team.  Go Hawks!

Trip To Walla Walla V--The Wineries

We of course, did some wine tasting in the area, starting with a Friday night Blue Grass music concert at the Three Rivers Winery.  That was only a mile or two from where we were staying.  We had dinner and enjoyed music under the stars.
Saturday morning, Rick and I took the dogs to the Blue Mountains to enjoy the scenery. We all met back at home and then went to an old favorite of mine, Bergevin Lane.  We met my cousin and her boyfriend, who had also come down from Seattle at Kontos Winery, downtown.
Later that night, we met my brother and we all walked to the fair which takes place every Labor Day weekend.  We walked from my brother's house which was a mile and a half away.
On Sunday, we went to Dunham Cellars, a frequent stop when we visit.  We also went to a new winery near the airport named SMAK, which specializes in Roses (Rose Ays).
The most interesting stop was Elegante Cellars, (Wine Cellar pictured above)  we met have the founder, a retired Walla Walla chemistry teacher, named Doug Simmons. He quipped that he was "Breaking Good", in reference to a popular TV show (Breaking Bad) about a chemistry teacher who started a meth lab.   Simmons though, opted for wine, which is tasty and legal.  He also makes a strawberry wine to honor his days when he spent summers working at Klicker's, the town's famous Strawberry farm.

Walla Walla Trip 4--Windmill

The weather was hot during our trip to Walla Walla, we usually walked the dogs in the early morning.  I wanted to get a picture of one of several houses in the area with windmills.  This was taken a block from where we stayed.

Trip To Walla Walla--Rental House

We spent the Labor Day weekend with Marjie and Rick in Walla Walla.
We rented this house on 758 Rhea Lane  near College Place on Airbnb.  It was very comfortable and had a big back yard.

Walla Walla Fair

During the Labor Day holiday, we attended the fair in Walla Walla. Our friends from Seattle also attended the fair as we walked from my brother's house about half a mile away.