For lack of something better, here's a little exercise I completed for Facebook. I don't know why I felt obligated to do this, but I did, and I labored over it for a couple of days before I hit the publish button. This is probably more than you need to know about me, but it's all true, and you'll forget about it tomorrow.

The Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. From the late 1960's until the early 90's, I suffered from cluster headaches. You can read the fine points on Wikipedia, but, to summarize, they hurt like hell. They occurred once a year, for 4-6 weeks during the summer. And then were gone. One year, they never came back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_headache

2. I was a cheerleader in high school. But, I was a cheerleader with Mark Frechette. You can read about Mark's sorry life here : http://www.trussel.com/lyman/frech5.htm . I don't remember a lot of interaction with Mark, but I do remember that he had a damn bad attitude. And at least one hot sister (in 1965, at least).

That's Mark all the way to the right, back row. I'm third from the left, back row.

3. I also went to high school with Peter McCann.

Pete, pickin'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_McCann

Pete and I roomed together on a glee club trip to Vermont. I was in a folk group with Pete's bother Dave, Bill Sabo, and Art Krusinsky in the mid 60's.

Tony & Bill Sabo

4. Another high school memory is being suspended, over a weekend (I'm not making this up) for wearing what was considered improper attire during above mentioned glee club trip. Black turtle neck, black pants, black wonderfully pointed Beatle boots, and a tweed sport jacket. The priests were outraged. Although not enough to keep me out of classes on Monday morning.

5. I'm incredibly proud of and impressed by my two kids and their talents. I know they got their looks from my wife, but I 'd like to think they got something from me, as well, in their gifts as musicians. But, maybe not.

Lisa & TJ

6. I want to play electric music again.

1976

I have 10 electric guitars, 3 amps, and need only a bass player and drummer to join George, Woody & me. Maybe we'll pursue this when it gets warmer. Or I'll forget again.
http://sites.google.com/site/outboundexpress/Home
We started that site to recount our adventures. We dropped the proverbial ball.

7. I do not have many close friends.

Woody, Tony, George

My three best and closest friends are friends from college. I am proud that I do have these three. I have very distinct memories of meeting each one.

I met John after one of my first classes at SCSC in 1965. He was lugging a nylon string guitar around to classes. I thought that that required some dedication to actually playing something.

John & Tony

I met Woody while browsing records at E. J. Korvette's in Trumbull. He had an eye patch on, and had that edgy thing happening. We were browsing folk music, which, if you remember the Korvette pricing system, was a "D" or "E", rather than the typical "C" in price.

Tony & Woody

I met George as he carried a case of beer into the house on Fitch St in New Haven, late one Friday afternoon.

Tony & George

While I can remember this, there are times when I can't remember why I went downstairs.

College 1965-1970. Bottom row Woody & George, top row me & John.

8. I am in touch with only three people from high school, which was, of course, a very long time ago. Bonnie Adriani Hartman, Peggy Brennan, and of course, Woody. I wrote Bonnie every day (again, I am not making this up) while she was away at school in Milwaukee, for several years. My life seemingly depended upon her letters back. That stopped when I discovered Scotch, of course, but for a while was nearly all consuming. We dated from '64-'67, and after the break, I did not hear from her again until 1992, when I got a call at work and she was surprised that I was still alive. Odd.

1965. While the eastern world, it was explodin', we danced the night away.

I found Peggy again on Facebook after a search. Notre Dame Boys HS being what it was, and me being basically shy, I didn't get to meet a whole big bunch of girls in high school. Peggy, Bonnie, & Shelia were about it at dances and things. I'm real happy to have found Peggy again, and hope Sheila will email sometime. I note, though, that she supported Goldwater in the '64 elections.

9. In 1983, I led the Waldenbooks Sunday morning softball team in batting at .632.

10. I am proud of my love of Barry Manilow's music.

Barry, Barry, Barry, Barry

11. After 40+ years, I finally met Chad & Jeremy, twice. I got numerous concert performance pictures, several autographs, and most importantly, several nice videos. And no, I do not feel all girly about finally getting to meet and thank the two guys who shaped my teenage romanticism. They are as nice as I could have ever imagined, and I hope to see them again this Spring.

L to R, Jeremy, me, Chad

12. In meeting Chad & Jeremy, and joining the Yahoo C&J group, and writing my own blog (http://thewhatsupwithchadjeremyblog.blogspot.com/), I've also met some wonderful new people, two of whom are pictured below.

Caswell Cooke & Bonnie Margolis

13. A calender of my photographs was published in 1987,

my daughter and I appeared on a CD in 1997 entitled Greetings From Luckytown Vol. 2:The Wired, The Internet & The E-Mail Shuffle, a Bruce Springsteen tribute CD. I would like to say that both of these are now highly sought after collectibles, but that wouldn't be true. Our rendition of I Wish I Were Blind, though, is pretty darn good.

The rather lackluster cover of our CD debut.

14. I think my time in Greenwich, coming on 34 years now, is coming to an end. The wealth, the excess, the society which used to intimidate me, now just pisses me off. We've decided to retire further north in CT as soon as something breaks in our favor, be it the economy, the housing market, or both. I have not shopped on Greenwich Ave in probably 10 years, nor have I driven down it in nearly 5. My 95 Camry is not among friends there.

15. I was divorced in 1976. I went to therapy for 4 years afterwords, first one on one, then group. One day the therapist declared the whole lot of us cured. Go figure.

16. I was not an attractive child, as my kids both were.

Barb, TJ, Lisa

This affected me throughout my adolescence, and for some time after. Despite this and the lower middle class poverty the family experienced, at least in relation to most of my classmates, I always wanted to sing, i.e. be a center of attention. I remember singing Frankie Avalon's "Venus" in 7th grade, and winning a talent contest. This came to nothing, sad to say.

You thought I was kidding? 7th grade

Freshman H.S. Amazing that I survived that year.

17. The Beatles, and what followed, changed my life.

18. My religion failed me. The Diocese of Bridgeport failed us. 6 of the 25 creeps listed under the Diocese of Bpt passed through St Teresa's parish, my hometown church. http://www.tremont-sheldon.com/church_priests.htm . Cardinal Egan has yet to answer for his time in Bpt. and his contributions to this.

19. Though this is not important nor even especially noteworthy, I have a fairly large collection of, shall we say, non-mainstream audio and video of Dion DiMucci. And humongous amounts of Springsteen print, audio, VHS and DVD video. Sadly there has not been an amount of Chad & Jeremy stuff produced off market to compare to either.

Dion & Tony, 1991

20. I have been unemployed for over 1 year. I am not discouraged. I spend 5 to 6 hours each day reviewing job sites and building my network. I have had 4 interviews. I can find few jobs that match my qualifications. I understand from the news reports that I may be weatherizing houses soon. Or, I may be the new Batman.

Could happen.

21. I spent 23 of my happiest years at the corporate HQ of Waldenbooks. I was in the top 15, seniority-wise, when they decided to move to Michigan. I met my wife there, as well as Brad Elliott, who has shared my love for Green Chartreuse and Hunter Thompson.

22. I have never learned the art of small talk.

23. I once went to confession in high school and was told by the priest that he didn't believe me.

24. I have made mistakes, bad decisions, bad choices. I love my friends, I love my family. Things could be worse.

25. I married the prettiest, best woman in the world on August 16, 1980. You all can stop looking, she's taken :).

Barb

Groom & Bride