Together Again!
For the first time since Christmas 2019 the Fitzsimons clan was together again. We got together to celebrate Memorial Day and the beginning of summer (which I hate) and my son Hayden’s graduation from high school. We gathered at my younger brother Steve’s new house. No masks, lots of hugs, and just hanging out together. It was wonderful!
Steve had a special gift for me. It was a bottle of Farrah Fawcett cream soda. The photo of me holding the bottle prompted a friend to call me to exclaim how grey my hair had gotten and that the pandemic seems to have really taken a toil on me.
“Gee, thanks for calling, my good friend.”
The thing is, depending on the lighting, sometimes I look really grey while other times not so much. Compare the two images (below). The one in which my hair appears less grey was taken days after the Farrah soda pic. I hadn’t done anything to my hair. I just changed the light source.
But, I am getting older and greyer. It’s just what happens.
Don Vogel And Chris Mars
On June 5, 1995 talk radio personality Don Vogel died. It’s been 26 years. Where does the time go?
Chances are you may not have heard of Don, but if you were a fan of Twin Cities (or Chicago) talk radio during the ’80s and into the ’90s you might know exactly who I am talking about.
Don was blind from birth and from an early age he knew he wanted to be on the radio. And he made it. He was incredibly funny and talented. His impressions of Richard Nixon and Howard Cosell were outstanding. His show was three hours of irreverent humor and fun. I was so bummed when he died.
Since I was talking about him, I figured I’d tell the story of the time I embarrassed myself at the Minnesota State Fair as Don and his co-host TD Mischke did their show from the Fairgrounds. This is where Chris Mars, a fantastic artist and the drummer of the legendary Minneapolis band The Replacements, comes in. Through listening to Don’s show over the years, I learned that Chris was also a fan of the “round mound of sound.”
And that day at the Fair I saw Chris in the crowd…
It’s Not True: Bees Defy Laws Of Physics
Some French entomologist in the 1930s (I mistakenly said 1830s on the show) thought bees shouldn’t be able to fly. Their wings are so small and their bodies are too bulky for flight. He couldn’t figure it out.
Bee Movie (2007) referred to this apparent defiance of aviation and physics by stating, “The bee, of course, flies anyways. Because the bee doesn’t care what humans think is impossible.”
I hope that entomologist didn’t think that, though the bee appeared to be doing something impossible, it was actually flying by magic. Just because an explanation wasn’t clear in the 1930s, it didn’t mean there wasn’t an explanation.
The advancement of science and technology has provided the answer. And, spoiler, it’s not magic.
A Mouse And A Broken Tooth
We have a guest in the house. Unwanted. It’s a mouse. The traps are in place and the cat has been instructed to kill the little intruder.
I had a tooth break after 5pm on the Friday of a three day weekend. Sigh. Luckily, there is no pain, so it hasn’t been very urgent to get it taken care of. And last Friday, also after 5pm, another bit of the same tooth broke off. Still no pain, but it seems this tooth is determined to ruin a weekend.
Let’s see what breaks off next Friday evening.
Tales From The Janitor’s Closet: So Many Dead Bodies
As a janitor I’ve gotten to go behind teller counters at banks, into private offices, boiler rooms, vaults, tunnels, and even on roofs. I get to go places where the general public is not allowed. It’s kind of a perk, I guess.
This past week, I got to go to the staff only area of a funeral home. And there were dead bodies. So many dead bodies. Thankfully, they were all covered by sheets with the exception of one in a body bag.
The following are details I did not give on the show, skip to the next topic if you might be squeamish: Two of the bodies weren’t completely covered by the sheets. Their heads were esposed. However, they were tightly wrapped in plastic. I could see through the plastic a little and see some facial features. One of those whose head was exposed was a small child. No more than three feet tall. Sad.
And there was the smell. Not overpowering, but definitely there.
Oh, the places you will go!
A Few Cool Things
First of the cool things was being able to work in the comic book store with one of my co-workers, Joe, without either of us wearing a mask! It was so nice to be able to remove the masks and not worry about the Covid. This is one of the benefits of everyone at the store being fully vaccinated.
Next is that Joe was able to buy Batman #1 (Spring 1940) through an online auction at Heritage. That is a major comic book. It’s the first issue under the Batman title, but not the first appearance of Batman (that was in Detective Comics #27 published March, 1939). It does have, however, the first appearances of Catwoman and the Joker. The condition of his book is pretty poor, but it still has a pretty hefty price. And, coolest of all, I got to hold it!
Another cool thing was getting see my very good friend Dave. We were last together in March 2020, right before the shut down. We hugged and were maskless around each other. And Dave gave me a spare AC window unit, our old one crapped out at the end of last summer. That is very cool, both figuratively and literally.
I finished the show with a story about Dave that connects with the story about Don Vogel and Chris Mars. It’s a small world after all.
Be patient. Wash your hands. Wear a mask where required. AND GET VACCINATED!
Dimland Radio opening theme song: Ram by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: Back In Flesh by Wall Of Voodoo and She’s Tight by Cheap Trick
Second ad break bumpers: What She Said by The Smiths and Jean’s Not Happening by Pale Fountains
Closing song: Angler’s Treble Hook by $5 Fiddle
That’s it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com
Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.
Subscribe to Dimland Radio on PodBean!
You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you’d like.
Images used under Fair Use.
Dimland Radio 