The Best Sandwich Ever

The last weekend of August found the family and I on a quest. A quest for the Best. James Best, that is.

For those of you who don't know, James Best is an actor who has appeared in quite a large number of tv shows and movies. For a long time he was famous for showing up in Westerns (by his count over 200 of them if you count tv shows like Gunsmoke Bonanza), then gained some cult status for starring in a movie called Attack of the Killer Shrews (the shrews being dogs with carpet tied on them). Episodes of the Andy Griffith show and Twilight Zone appear on his resume, as does the movie Hooper with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. However, despite all of this, he will forever be known as Sherriff Rosco P. Coltrane from the hit series The Dukes of Hazzard.

My boys, but in particular Caleb, love the Dukes of Hazzard. I'm not sure "love" is a strong enough word. For a number of years, they craved episodes of the show and toy cars from the show and when it was time to watch something, Caleb would ask to put on a Dukes. It got old.

Then came a day in mid-August when I was meeting my cousin and her daughter for breakfast when we saw a flyer taped to the door of the restaurant. A car show was being held in Sandwich, NH, featuring not only all sorts of classic cars and hot rods but the General Lee and Rosco himself, Mr. James Best!

Picture the excitement! Rosco and the General Lee, a mere 45 minutes from our home! No matter the price, the boys were determined to meet James Best and see, touch, and hear the General Lee.

The car show was advertised as operating from 9 to 5 on Saturday so we arrived at the show around 3. My Spidey-sense immediately started tingling, partially from the lack of cars parked in the parking lot but also because the people at the gate let us in for free.

The reason for this soon became obvious. Not only had most of the cars for the show left for the day, but so had Mr. Best. Luckily, there was still a General Lee there at the show. In fact, there were three. The boys were amazed to see them for real and when one of them left, the driver of the car blew the famous horn and we all stopped and listened.

Seriously, it was awesome.

The wife and I had all but decided that we were going to miss Rosco this trip but the boys had other ideas. They wanted to come back the next day. I said "We'll see" but I knew I would say yes. It's not like Rosco comes to NH every day.

So Sunday morning dawned and I loaded up the boys, got enough money to get us into the show, and off we went. We arrived at the Sandwich Fairgrounds around 10:30 and paid our money at the gate. We could see him as soon as we walked onto the fairground! James Best! Rosco Purvis Coltrane! He was in his tent, he was signing autographs. This was really it! The boys got into line with their pictures to be signed.

And that's when I saw the lady collecting money. "Excuse me," I asked, "does it cost money to get an autograph if we've brought our own photos with us?"

"Yes," she replied, "it costs 5 dollars."

I didn't have 5 dollars. Which meant I didn't have 10 dollars. Which meant no autographs.

The boys were so disappointed, but we walked around the fairgrounds looking at the cars and trying to find a portable ATM. None were to be found. The boys looked so sad that I couldn't find it in my heart to give up.

"Guys," I stated, "let's go find some money."

We went to the front gate and asked where in Sandwich there was an ATM or bank. Turns out there isn't one.

For those who have never been to Sammich, let me try to explain it. There are towns that are built because they are close to a river and were settled there by people who could fish, and then came the mills who used the river for power, more people arrived, maybe a train went through it, and then suddenly you had a town.

Sandwich is the opposite of this.

I see no reason for its existence. There's no river. There's no mine, there's no logging, there's nothing. It's a long drive from everywhere, in every direction. For the lady at the gate to tell me that there's no ATM, that means another long drive.

"Boys," I ordered, "to the car!" This was personal now. We were getting that damn autograph.

I picked a road and drove down it, arriving 15 minutes later in the town of Center Harbor, a town on the edge of a lake (hence the reason that people settled there! I mean, really!) I knew this place, I knew where there was a bank, and where there's a bank, there's an ATM. I took out the cash, inwardly flinching at the cost of all this on my poor unemployed heart, and then drove the 15 minutes back to Sammich. It was close to noon by now and I silently made an oath to myself that if Rosco had left Sandwich to go have a sandwich, I'd flip out.

We parked the car, leapt out, and ran into the fairgrounds. He was there! Finally, after 3 attempts, two very happy boys and one very exasperated dad were going to meet Rosco.

He sat there in his Hazzard County uniform, his hat on, with a large banner behind him announcing who he was and why he was famous. He looked so old but his eyes had a twinkle in them that showed that he was still sharp and alive. He signed both boys pictures and even a small picture of Caleb when he was younger and dressed up as Rosco for Halloween. "Did you get a lot of candy that year?" he asked them. James Best seemed to be a genuinely warm and friendly man.

We walked away with our pictures and stood admiring them. A man standing by an old car said to us, "Did you just meet Rosco?"

"We sure did" I replied.

He smiled. "Nice guy. Can you believe he's 85?"

I was surprised, but at the same time I wasn't. He looked old, but it's not many 85-year-old men that can sit in a folding chair in a tent on a hot August day in NH and sign autographs one after another. Never mind make the trip up to NH.

I suddenly wanted to go talk to him. Really talk to him. People weren't even calling him by his real name, he was "Rosco". I wanted him to know that at least one person here knew that he was a "real actor". I mean, this guy had worked with Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Henry Fonda, Rock Hudson, and Anthony Quinn! He was a piece of classic Hollywood and he was somehow in small town NH.

Of course, this wasn't the time or place. He was a busy man, I had two boys with me, and frankly, I was tired of Sammich. It was time to go. The boys couldn't wait to get home and show their mother their autographs and tell them about the adventure.

Me? I just couldn't wait to get home.

September 5th would have been Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday. It's hard to believe that it has been almost 20 years since he passed away. Of course, it's hard to imagine Freddie Mercury as a 65-year-old man.

I don't want this to be a depressing review of his loss and how it affected not only my life, but the lives of so many others. Instead, I want to focus on the positive. Something Freddie always tried to do.

And so, I'm here to tell you that I was right. I was always right.

In 1980 I discovered Queen. And by "discovered" I mean "fell in love with". I loved Queen so much that I got my friends to NOT like Queen because I pushed the music on them so often. I loved that the lead singer had such an incredible voice. I loved that the lead guitarist had built his own guitar. I loved that it had always been the same 4 guys playing this music, and that each one of them wrote the songs on the albums. I loved that they didn't play by the rules, that one song could be metal (Stone Cold Crazy for example) and the next song on the album could be Dear Friends, a gentle lullaby with only piano for an instrument. I loved the harmonies, the creativity, the variety.

Problem was, I felt like I was the only one who saw all of this. Queen were huge all over the world, but in the States, they had lost their audience, partly because of the album Hot Space, partly because of the video for "I Want to Break Free", and partly because music in the States was shifting slowly to new wave, pop, rap, and hair metal.

Then, in 1991, the tide started to shift. Freddie passed away. Barely a blip about it here in the States. I remember him getting a 30 second spot on the news and even MTV seemed busy discussing other things. And then came Wayne's World, with it's famous Bohemian Rhapsody scene. The single was rereleased by the band as a charity single to earn money for AIDS research and it actually charted higher in the U.S.A the second time it was released and made it to number 1 for the second time over in England.

With the loss of Freddie, a benefit concert was planned to continue to raise money for research and to say farewell in style to Queen's former lead singer. The world got to see just how many bands and singers had loved Queen and Freddie, ranging from Metallica to Elton John, from David Bowie to Liza Minelli. Hell, even Liz Taylor showed up for the event, on the same stage as Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath.

And Freddie and the band's popularity has continued to grow. And grow. A hit musical that has been performed all over the world and has been selling out shows in London's West End for over a decade. Brian May and Roger Taylor on American Idol. Queen songs constantly being performed on the hit show Glee. Queen compilations being released featuring everyone from Sum 41 to Yngwie Malmsteen to Gavin DeGraw to Joss Stone. Bonus singles being recorded by bands like My Chemical Romance and Def Leppard. Now their is a Freddie Mercury movie being filmed starring Sasha Baron Cohen.

But what struck me the most this week but a sudden conglomeration of artists and love for Queen and Freddie all materializing at the same time.

It started with an issue of Entertainment Weekly with Justin Timberlake announcing his first album as being A Night at the Opera. Justin Timberlake! It was followed by Brian May performing in London with My Chemical Romance. Brian then jetted off to the States to make a surprise performance on the MTV Video Music Awards with Lady GaGa. Lady GaGa! Who's name comes from the Queen single Radio GaGa! Google changed it's logo for a day to show their love of Freddie Mercury with a specially designed music video for the world to enjoy. The Foo Fighters premiered a video set to the Queen song "Body Language" which announced their Fall tour in the U.S. And artists ranging from Katy Perry (Katy Perry!) to Pat Monahan from Train wished Freddie a happy birthday via video messages.

And all of this within a span of about 10 days. The biggest performers in the world, all sharing a common love for the band called Queen. Suddenly it's cool to be a Queen fan, a Freddie fan.

I knew this 25-years-ago.

Happy Birthday Freddie.

Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shows of the 80's

The title is a bit misleading. These are MY top 10 science fiction and fantasy shows of the 80's. Other people would possibly have shows like Knight Rider or Air Wolf on their lists. Not this fella.



As with the best of lists, we'll start at 10 and work our way to number 1. And sooooo...



10) Wizards and Warriors



I don't remember much about this show except that I was pissed that it was on CBS because our CBS station came in for crap. On a good night you could see the people. On a bad night, you could see the people through a snowstorm. However, this show was right up my alley and so I would do the best I could. It also starred Jeff Conaway who had been a big star on Taxi and in the movie Grease but would later be appearing on shows like Celebrity Rehab. Oh, and looky there! Julia Duffy from Newhart! This 1983 show managed to last 8 episodes, and many episodes were directed by The Incredible Hulk's Bill Bixby.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWEoHek8IM0



9) Shadow Chasers



Long before Dennis Dugan became the director for 90 percent of Adam Sandler's movies, he appeared on this show. The gist was that Dennis was a reporter for those newpapers like the Weekly World News where they have articles about bat babies. He was joined by straight-laced Trevor Eve, a British actor. They got on each other's nerves but spent much of the show chasing the paranormal. This show aired in 1985 and while 13 episodes were made, only 9 ever aired on ABC. The link is to a foreign edition of the title sequence so ignore the voice over blip and enjoy the rest.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIy4NwtC4FY&feature=related



8) The Phoenix



Oh Judson Scott, where art thou? Besides having a sweet name and appearing in The Wrath of Khan, Judson also gained some fame playing blue-eyed barefoot mystic-type extraterrestrial Bennu on the show The Phoenix. Just not much fame. The show aired for just about a month on ABC in 1982. I remember it though. It was mighty fine, mighty fine.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SASkqWyn40



7) Voyagers!



Airing on Sunday nights at 7 on NBC (yes, I swear I remember that from memory), Voyagers! told the story of one Phineas Bogg, played by Jon-Erik Hexum, a time-traveler who accidently picked up a boy, Jeffrey Jones, and brought him through time with a device called an Omni. Jeffrey was played by another wonderfully named actor, Meeno Peluce. These 2 characters would land somewhere in time, and have to fix the problem before leaving. Abraham Lincoln leave his Gettysburg Address in his other pants? Voyagers to the rescue! Edison can't come up with a name for his bulb that makes light? Voyagers to the rescue! Actually, the show had some success and lasted a whole season. It's even on DVD!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-o_7AGJRQ



6) Manimal



Somewhere along the way, someone said to an NBC executive "I've got an idea for a show. This man can turn into any animal he wants in an effort to fight crime!" The executive said "brilliant!" and greenlit the show. Then the special effects guys (Stan Winston!!!) realized that it took forever just to make this guy look like he was turning into a hawk and a black panther, so Manimal went from turning into any animal he wanted to turning into just two animals. Any other animal change occurred off-screen. Cept for an episode where he turned into a snake to pull a friend from quicksand. You get the drift. Simon MacCorkindale starred as Jonathan Chase, ably assisted by Flash Gordon's Melody Anderson and Ice Pirates Michael D. Roberts. The show lasted 8 episodes. I loved it. Sadly, this 1983 slice of heaven aired opposite Dallas, though I'm not sure it would have lasted any longer if it had aired opposite Cop Rock.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQZxRH6uoiY



5) The Highwayman



Speaking of Flash Gordon, I loved this futuristic show starring Sam J. Jones as a bad-ass dude who drove the highways in a futuristic semi that could turn into a helicopter. Airing on NBC, in 1988 (after a 1987 pilot movie), this show also featured Jane Badler from "V", Tim Russ who went on to appear as Tuvok on Star Trek Voyager (and who is now the principal on iCarly) , and a damn bad actor by the name of Jacko from Australia, who up until this show, was mainly famous for appearing in Energizer battery ads (Gonna surprise ya! New Energiza! Oy!). It lasted all of 9 episodes.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLLyS88_DB8



4) Automan



When Tron came out and introduced the world to men and women in glowy outfits, it was revolutionary. So revolutionary in fact that ABC blatantly ripped off the look for this show about a police geek played by Desi Arnez Jr. who created a virtual person, Automan, played by Chuck Wagner. Automan helped "Walter Knebbish" fight crime and no one seemed to notice that under his clothes he was glowing. Walter, genius that he was, also never figured out that he if he would just put on a seatbelt while riding in Automan's car, he wouldn't slam into the window every time Automan made a 90 degree turn. The show began in 1983, ended in 1984, and managed to last 12 episodes (though 13 were filmed).



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQb1ZD9W8_c&feature=related



3) Misfits of Science



The same NBC executive who greenlit a show about a dude turning into a bird also decided that it would be a good idea to make a comedy show about superheroes. And so we arrive at Misfits of Science, originally famous for being a bad show starring Dean Martin's son, but then more famous when one of it's actors, a woman by the name of Courteney Cox, found success on a little show called Friends. It managed to air 14 whole episodes, again versus that show killer Dallas. The cast included Mark Thomas Miller as Johnny B, a rocker who could shoot electric bolts and run super fast, Courteney as Gloria, a girl with telekinetic powers, and Dr. Elvin "El" Lincoln, a 7 foot tall scientist who could shrink to the size of a Ken doll. How did this NOT succeed??!?!?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcXYrODO8UI



2) Greatest American Hero



Holy cow, a show on here that was a success? Believe it or not, this show lasted from 1981 to 1983. On paper, it doesn't sound any less crazy than many of these other shows. A teacher gets a super suit from aliens but loses the instructions so he is constantly flying into walls and having people look at him like he's crazy. But it succeeded due to the chemistry between the 3 stars, the light-hearted feel of the show, a sweeeeet theme song (of which I used to have the 45), and decent effects. Well, at least that's why it succeeded with me. By the way, I've got William Katt's autograph and you don't. All 3 seasons are available on dvd.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Q3orQhEcA&feature=fvw



1) Street Hawk



It takes quite a show to beat Greatest American Hero. But that's what this show is. It had everything I wanted. A cool looking vehicle. Great music. Awesome guest stars (George Clooney! Dennis Franz! Christopher Lloyd!). And stuff blowing up. Street Hawk was a super motorcycle driven by Jesse Mach (Rex Smith) and created by Norman Tuttle (Murphy Browns' Joe Regalbuto). The bike could shoot bullets, missles, and lasers, could jump over cars without the use of a ramp, stop instantly, and best of all, shoot into "hyperthrust" and go 300 miles per hour while the music of Tangerine Dream kicked in. My geek life was made that much more complete when the dvd of the series arrived in July of 2010, 25 years after it aired.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCItnKrXvMM

Reading The Movies

Every few years or so, my wife Maria gives me the gift that keeps on giving. No, not Pez, something even better. A movie guide. You know the ones, the thick books with the teeny words that have condensed as many millions of movie reviews as they can and shoved them between 2 covers. I love these books. Problem is, they go bad after a few years. As years pass, there are literally hundreds of new movies added to the "guide" and so it's time for a new one.

There were days, boys and girls, where you couldn't just go online and look up thousands of movie reviews. There was no Internet Movie Database. There were movie guides. Giving a succinct review, a number of stars depending on the quality of the movie, telling what the movie was rated, and who had directed and starred in the movie. I've been getting these things since the 90's, even keeping them under the counter at Campton Video Tyme for those occasions when a customer asked me "Do you know the person who was in that movie?" Sadly, or impressively, depending on the reader, I usually knew the answer.

These are also great books to keep in the bathroom, for when you want to just look up a review or 2.

However, last year, about this time, I made a random and spur-of-the-moment decision. Looking up a particular movie was boring! I was going to read that big boy cover to cover, every single movie review. There was no reason for this. I guess the hope was that I'd discover some little treasures, some hidden gems of movies that would make me smiley. It also felt like it would be an accomplishment, something other people don't do (and for a very good reason!). Finally, as I will say a hundred times in this blog, I love movies. Looooooove movies.

So I picked up the book, in this case, the book you see at the top of this post.

I've found that I enjoy reading Leonard Maltin. Our appreciation of movies is fairly similar, and he has a sense of humor. Not many movie reviews contain lines like "James Woods steals this movie, and he's welcome to it".

The trick to reading a movie guide is that it can't be all I read. I'm reading other books in the meantime, ranging from Roswell to Radical Forgiveness. It's been about a year now and I'm about 850 pages into this epic. Starting the M section. Halfway through. I have discovered some movies. I've discovered some wonderful names, like Googie Withers. I've noticed that many of the movies that I love are so bad that Mr. Maltin doesn't bother reviewing them. As they say in Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, there's only so much room in the book. Space can't always be spared for movies like Yor: The Hunter From The Future.

I expect I'll be done sometime in 2011. And you know, by then, it'll be time for a new movie guide. Question is, will I do this again?

By the way, to this day, the best review I've ever read, and this was several years ago, simply stated "Rated R for Refuse".

In The Beginning...

...Stacy created a blog. And it was good.

I've been encouraged to start a blog. Why? A number of reasons. For one thing, I'm beginning to pursue the idea of starting a column and sending it out to local papers. Back in the day, when I went to Plymouth State College, I had a column in the school newspaper, The Clock. My column was called "From the Hick, er, Hip". I added the "er, Hip" to the title because I didn't think that people would get the play on words. From The Hick. From the Hip. Get it? Of course you do, you're not stupid. The column was about small-town life. My observations of things such as foliage season, Harvest Suppers, and hunting. It was meant to be humorous, and I like to think that on occasion, it was. I even had a fan. I hope that perhaps a column like that would be successful in some of the free local papers. We'll see I suppose. My idea is to come up with some columns, send them out, and see what happens.

Another thought is that the more I write, the better I'll be. It takes work to write, and the more a person practices, the better they should be (in theory at least!). Having a blog will help me to keep writing, keep practicing, and keep improving.

Finally, it will allow me a place to write about whatever I want to write about. So that is what I shall do. Sometimes it will be about life. Sometimes it will be about make-believe. It will always be about something that interests me. I hope this helps to make me happier. Feel free to join me on the journey. Maybe this will make you a little happier as well.

Stacy