It’s the strangest time of year – as in I don’t much care for it. It’s too cold for golf, at least if you’re at the grand old age of 53. But it’s too warm to hope for a couple more snow days. Basketball, at least in the great state of Hogville, is bad, and especially if you were once, recently in fact, a young rising star/coach from the Bluegrass State. And I could not even tell you on a bet who the top five, college basketball teams are. I’d say Duke is in there, but who wouldn’t?
New movies are also bad right now, so I’m resigned to watching reruns. Not recent ones either. Kathy and I watched “Marathon Man” last Friday night. I’m running my tongue over my two front teeth as I type this just thinking about it. YES, IT’S SAFE, IT’S SAFE, FOR GOSH SAKE IT’S SAFE!!!
I’m thinking of going to see “Rubber.” It’s a movie about an old tire in the desert named Robert who comes to life and discovers he has destructive telepathic powers (which we’ve all wished for, especially driving home on Rodney Parham at 5:30). Robert soon sets his sights on a desert town, where a mysterious “B” movie-looking woman becomes his obsession; I’m not kidding, this is really a movie.
And believe it or not it received an 86 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which means, in this case, that six of the seven critics who have reviewed it so far have liked it. Todd Gilchrist, that famous critic of ShockTilYouDrop.com says, “‘Rubber’ operates as actively on a metaphorical level as a visceral one… seamlessly merges form and content.” Which translated probably means Todd didn’t get it at all. I’ve got to go see for myself.
So mostly I spend my days being a Not-er. I’m not golfing, not B-balling and not movieing. Mostly I’m just playing Words With Friends, with the likes of NancyPug (sister of a famous actress from my hometown of NLR), Susi01 (who I don’t know anything about) and Simp the Pimp (not his real user name but it’s what we called him in high school).
Maybe a trip would help. My cousin Julie, who I reconnected with on Facebook a few months back, has invited us to go to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, a.k.a Jazz Fest, coming up in early May. While I’d love to see her I’m not too fired up about a concert where there promises to be thousands of other humans.
But then I saw the band lineup has The Allman Brothers, John Mellencamp, Lucinda Williams, Arlo Guthrie, Dr. John and Willie Nelson. Even Tom Jones and Pete Fountain are there. So maybe a little pushing and shoving would be worth it.
And it is in New Orleans, where you can usually find a pretty decent meal if you care about that sort of thing.
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There is sad news from the most famous street in the Ozarks. Last early Monday morning a fire claimed the life of Bruce Walker, the owner of Flying Possum Leather on Dickson, which sits just across the street from George’s Majestic Lounge.
If you’ve spent much time in Fayetteville and especially on Dickson you knew Bruce. He was an icon, like Roger and Maxine.
Bruce said he learned how to make sandals back in 1976, when some of you, like me, were regulars in that part of the world. In an interview a few years back with UATV, Bruce says that he had a fellow come to his store that same year and show him how to make sandals.
“He showed a buddy and me the basics of how to make custom sandals,” Bruce said. “Then after three days he shook my hand and said ‘Good Luck.’ And that’s the last time I saw him.”
One of the posts on the Fayetteville Flyer after the news of Bruce’s death was from Hogwood, who said, “I’ve known Bruce since he opened his store in ’77. I can tell you he is probably fitting Jesus for a pair of custom sandals right now.” Nice thought.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. According to Fayetteville Animal Services Program Administrator Joni Mosher, Bruce’s shop dog, Bugsy, survived the fire and is currently at the city’s animal shelter. Mosher said she’d probably wait about 10 days to see if any of Walker’s family members come forth before putting Bugsy up for adoption. RIP Bruce Walker.
•••
Three important health headlines from this week –
“Half million U.S. teens have eating disorders.”
“Only 50 percent of those with bipolar disorder are treated.”
But my favorite –
“A few drinks linked to decreased dementia risk.”
Have a great weekend. And please let me know if you find anything at all to do out there.