The Coin-Flip Road Trip

Good Morning from Burlington, Colorado. 

For those of you reading this and not wholly familiar with the Centennial State this lovely hamlet is the last stop if you are going east on I-70.  For the Brennan-Conti family it was the first stop as we return home from the Coin-Flip Road Trip and an opportunity to extend our vacation one more night.

Now some of you may be asking, “What is a coin-flip road trip?” simply put it has been just about the best five days I have spent with my family in years. Even though we were in Kansas.  Actually, I am being unfair to Kansas.  It may be because of Kansas this trip was just plain fun.  I’ll get to Kansas in a minute, First, an explanation of the:

Coin-Flip Road Trip.

This is not a road trip for the faint of heart.  Do not attempt this if you are:

• ·      A control freak or type A personality.
• ·      Unable to be spontaneous.
• ·      Lacking the ability to appreciate the oddities in this world.

For clarification this was not my idea. This idea flowed from the mind of my lovely wife, Meg, and I was lucky enough to be allowed to enjoy the fruits of her brilliance. Here are the general rules for the Coin-Flip Road Trip.. (We say general rules because there are times when the decision of the coin just cannot be tolerated.  Like when it wants to send you to Nowheresville Colorado. The occasional veto is acceptable.)

1.       The Coin is flipped as you approach US and Interstate Highways. Do not flip the coin at by-passes or highways that have the potential of making you back track or dead ends.
2.        The Coin is first flipped to determine if you will be turning. (ie. Heads you turn, tails continue on highway.)
3.        If The Coin tells you to turn then you flip The Coin again to determine direction. (ie. Heads you go South, Tails you go North.)
4.        Travelers are allowed to call for detours to towns or points of interest or to investigate historical markers.
5.        Do not drive for more than four or five hour per day.
6.        Coin flipping concludes when you decide to turn for home. But don’t keep this from giving you freedom to be spontaneous.
7.        Have fun

Our trip began Sunday morning with The Coin sending south on I-25. The next flip was Highway 24 and heading East to Limon. Continuing on I-70 into Kansas.  (We did veto one flip that would have sent us south of Burlington, and that was just not acceptable.) Sunday night in Colby, Kansas and then the coin sent us south to Hutchinson, Kansas and the Cosmo sphere and underground salt mining museum. We put the coin away to head North to Concordia, Kansas and a visit with a an old friend of Meg's. We also saw the Orphan Train Museum, World Largest ball of Twine and Nicodemus, KS.   

We did cheat a little, but the spirit of the coin was followed and we went on a grand adventure that would not otherwise been achieved with preplanning etc.

We are headed home now with great memories and already talking about our next road trip.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore”, Reese as we crossed the state line.

PS – I wrote the above in Burlington and posted once I got home. 

Total miles driven 1,033.  Of those Amelia drove at least half, maybe more. Super proud.

Lindsey Buckingham Alive and Very Well

Music at its most basic raw form is about a man and a guitar. And tonight Lindsey Buckingham proved that you really don't need anymore than that. Just a man and his guitar.

You remember Lindsey, right? Lead singer and guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, the poster child for dysfunctional music groups of the 70s, 80s and 90s. He calls it "the big Machine". We know the hit albums, Rumors, Tusk, Mirage. Mic on drum, John and Christine fighting, Stevie Nicks twirling on stage. In 1976 their album and tour broke records and spawned a generation of light rock. Lindsey Buckingham was the engine of that machine and for the next 30 years has jumped in and out of the cauldron.

But take Lindsey out of the arena and away from the soap opera. He is just a man and a guitar,with three more very strong sidemen and this is where Lindsey shines. The "little machine" provided quite nicely in the intimate setting of the Gate Concert Hall at DU.

The measure of a great musician is his ability to just play. Pick-up the guitar and pull out a song stand in front of a mic and sing. Lindsey Buckingham does that best and he proved it in the first 30 minutes his show. Just a man and his guitar. He opened with his best known solo classics Shut Us Down, Go Insane and Trouble. A dash of the big machine with Never Going Back Again and Big Love before he was joined by his backing band.

Songs from his new album "Seeds we Sow" peppered the remainder of show along with more Fleetwood Mac gems including Second Hand News, Tusk, I'm So Afraid and the 70s anthem Go You Own Way. Filling the holes were selections from his other five solo efforts. A two song encore with the band and then a return to the basics. A man and his guitar for the title track of his new album.

This concert was more than just a music icon of the 70s and 80s hitting the road in support of his newest effort. This was a return to a man's roots. He acknowledge this at the opening. Mentioning how he taught himself to play while listening to the albums of his older brother (who by the way won a silver medal at the 64 Mexico City Olympics). Breaking down his classics to just a man and his guitar. Showing not just what the basics are, but also proving to the rest of the musician world that it takes more than just replaying your stuff the same old way. That may sell tickets and give people an opportunity to relive memories. But what Lindsey Buckingham accomplished tonight was more important. He gave new memories and fresh life to old songs, something we tend to miss when the bands of our youth come to town to play their hits.

Lindsey Buckingham may not make the lists of greatest guitarists and that ok because sometimes he is more than that. He proved that striping away all the extra stuff and just being a man and guitar is still a powerful message and more than enough to satisfy a crowd.

Surfing Buffaloes

I’m a traditional kind of a guy. I know that may be hard to believe for some people I know, but deep down inside I like the old ways. When life was simpler. No computers (Yeah, here I am blogging.), kids playing in the yards and parks and not on video games, big newspapers, double headers and looking forward to the Big 8, no Big 12 football season. But even the money grubbers had to ruin that.

Today marks the end of the Big 12 as my beloved Colorado Buffaloes and the despised Corn split from tradition and begin life in new conferences. Now in the big scheme of things this really doesn’t matter. In fact for the Buffs it is a good thing. Sure no more trips to Manhattan, KS, Stillwater, Norman or even Lincoln. Instead we are going west to LA, Tempe, Tucson, Berkley, Palo Alto and Seattle. The money will be better and perhaps this will renew a program that hasn’t had the best of years. So maybe this isn’t so bad. But it is still hard to swallow for a kid that was brought up on the toughest college football in the US. The Big 12 and before the Texas invasion, the Big 8 was the best football conference in the US.

Gone are the days of CU and Nebraska on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It may have been lopsided in Nebraska's favor, but in that rivalry there were some great games. CU and Oklahoma had some fun Saturday afternoons also. But no more. The all mighty dollar has won the war. Time to move on, I guess.

So here’s to new traditions. Instead of Eskimo Joes we’ll go the Hooters in Tempe, we’ll go to the beach instead of cow tipping, and we have to come up with new jokes for our opponents cheerleaders. (No more grazing jokes.)

But let’s face it. The mountains are better than the ocean, we we don’t have the heat or earthquakes and we still have the sheep to beat up on.

GO BUFFS!!!!!

The Geekiest Summer

By the name of this blog you know that I am a geek. A term I am proud to carry and this summer I am going to be carrying the banner loud and proud and with my children by my side. Well at least my son. My 13 year-old daughter is not following us, at least she is claiming she isn't. Now all this geekness is for what promises to be a great movie summer and very cool geek-like activities. It started this last Saturday with Thor, will continue with Pirates of the Caribbean and Kung Fu Panda later this month. June has X-Men First Class, Super 8, Green Lantern, and Bad Teacher (not for the kids). July is the biggie with Harry Potter, Captain America and COWBOYS & ALIENS. This looks like the star of the year.

But in all honesty the greatest three nights in the theatre this summer will be in June as I sit with my kids and watch the Lord of the Rings on consecutive Tuesday nights. I am just giddy with anticipation for these movies to return to the big screen. Its even better that I get to see it with my kids. This is a dream come true because on the big screen is how these movies should be seen, at least the first time, and in their full extended edition glory. This is GEEK HEAVEN.

Other additional geek activities this summer. Lego engineering camp and a junkyard wars camp for my son. So jealous am I on that one. They never had that for me and I know I would have been a much better person because of it. For my daughter it will be cheer leading and rock climbing. OK maybe not that geek like. But that is not the point.

The point is there are some great GEEK movies this summer and I can't wait. Also a ton of Geek books to read. But more on that later, off to read.

Shirts and the people that wear them

I have to admit this started off as a sappy blog about my wife getting a new job because I am failure BLAH BLAH BLAH. But then I got a package in the mail from our friends the Ballingers. They sent us cool things from Hawaii.

Now I am the first to admit I'm no Tom Selleck. The truth is I bare little resemblance to "The Mustache". In fact the only things we may have in common is copious amounts of chest hair, a love of beautiful woman and this very cool Hawaii Shirt.

According to my sources this brand new shirt I am wearing is an exact replica of the famous shirt Mr. Thomas Magnum, PI wore as he tore through the islands fighting bad guys and picking up the hottest chicks on 80's TV. These sources further claim the original shirt is now in the Smithsonian. This further proves my point that Hawaii shirt are the coolest shirts in the world. I love these kind of shirts. Big oversized shirts. I have a couple from the islands, several bought from Kohls, Costco, (I shop only the highest fashion retailers) and one very fancy bowling shirt. My favorite is my CU Hawaiian shirt.

When it comes to shirts I have one simple rule, The Uglier The Better. I love to wear them year round. I've been know to wear them in the middle of winter to brighten up the office. I have a couple I can get with wearing in the middle of week, not having to wait for "Casual Fridays" and nothing make me happier than people taking a second look just to make sure their eyes are not deceiving them. I wear them with nice slacks, sports coats, jeans, shorts, pajama bottoms, to meetings, ballgames... I think you get the picture. I love these kinds of shirts.

Mark Twain told us "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." So be happy that I have found clothes that I like to wear and really speak for who I am. Because the other option would be walking around naked. Not even Magnum would want to see that.

A Great Song is Just a Great Song

I am not a big country fan, but I do love live performance and last night at Fiddler's Green my wife and I, along with 15,000 other crazies got sucked into the vortex that is Tim McGraw. The opening act, Lady Antebellum was nothing short of spectacular as well. But I think to call this a “Country Show” is to miss the reality of what these artists have achieved and are contributing to the current music scene, across all genres.

Let's start with “Lady A” as the die-hards call them. They are not a traditional country bad, no fiddle player, steel guitars or cowboy hats. To be honest I had only heard one song of their's prior to the show. The hit from 2009 Need You Now. While the songs sounded country at time, the vast majority of songs could easily be heard on any radio station in, no matter what the format. The group also did an outstanding version of Tom Petty's Free Fallin' that was as good as the original. The entire set was full of tight song writing and the standard fare of country lyrics. (You can never go wrong with the lyrics of a good country song. ) The backing band were all great musicians, including a lead guitarist doing an outstanding impression of Willie Nelson's former hair braids.

It does say something about the crossover of genres within music. The song used by the band to come out onto stage was 1901 from the French band Phoenix. Perhaps one of the best songs and albums from 2009. just shows to me at least the diversity in the marketplace of music.

I will tell you this. Lady A is definitely on the list of albums to buy the next time I am on iTunes or at the used CD store. They have got my attention and perhaps we will even try to get to there next gig in Denver, sometime in the fall at the Paramount.

Now to Tim. First off there was the ramp up music when the lights dropped Genesis In the Air Tonight, visions of Mike Tyson air drumming, and then the preview to his next movie with Gweneth Paltrow, as a spiraling down country star, Country Song. The video of him on a Harley, walking up on stage, Lights Shadows and here we go. The next 1 Hour and 45 minutes of fun.

(For the record Tim McGraw is just 3 month older than I am and my wife does not look at me the way she looks at that guy. Just saying.)

I have not had that much fun at a show in years. Even seeing Iron Maiden at Fiddlers in June, was not as light hearted and fun as this. I knew maybe three songs in the set, but that did not take away any of the enjoyment. McGraw is a great showman and I hope I can see him again. I have enjoyed McGraw the actor in Blindside and a couple of other flicks, and he is just as charismatic on stage. (I know this is going on a limb, but is he our modern day Frank Sinatra?)

This brings me to the point of this babble. It really doesn't matter the genre, but a great song is a great song. McGraw has ton of them, and it was especially true when he and the band played the Elton John classic Tiny Dancer. The song is almost 40 years old and he made it sound fresh and a hit that you would here on any radio today. It's a great song, just like the Petty tune played by Lady A, great songs are great songs. I can't wait to see what the next 20 years of McGraw will give us and I hope this is not the only time I see him. Same with Lady A, I look forward to hearing what they will come up with next.

Speaking of great songs, Rush in just 15 days, Those are some great songs.

Hey, want to hear the story about my back

Boy, did I F**K UP my back.

I'm feeling OK now, and hopefully will avoid a second back surgery this year. But the last 7 months have not been easy. Just ask my lovely, caring, thoughtful, beautiful, pure of heart, wonderful wonderful wife. Let's start at the beginning.

A year ago I was in the midst of a HUGE kitchen remodel. Tore out walls, floor, a bathroom, cabinets, filled in a door and installed a window. This was a big job, especially for a 42 year-old wise-ass of a man-child who, whenever questioned by the aforementioned loving, courageous, and trusting wife, would reply, "Yes!", "No problem.", "Don't worry about it.", "That's easy!", "I can do this with out anyone's help!", "It's only a flesh wound.", "No one will notice.", " I need a bigger band-aid.", BEEEERRRR Please.", "It's still connected with the piece of skin. Just get me more duct tape." never doubted his will and ability. The countless man hours, long weekends, used up favors, friendships strained, and a marriage strengthened added up to the best kitchen in the neighborhood and a sense of pride that is shared by our whole family. (Mother-in-law included.)

But as will happen to soon-to-be middle-aged men who bite off more than they can chew, "No good deed goes unpunished." I ended up with a herniated disc. An issue that started small and grew and Grew and GRew, and GREw, and GREW until finally my heroic, clever, and magical wife had to call the paramedics (I just think she likes to look at them) and had my sorry ass carted to the hospital.

I could give you the grisly details of my hospital stay, (three days with no pooping, crapping in bed, peeing in a bottle, a constant brain haze and monotony, the food was good though.) surgery that was nothing less than miraculous, my convalescence under the love of my wife, PT with an evil angel, and my triumphant return to work. But I will spare you the drool. (Sorry to those that have to endured the recorded version in person.) I will also spare you the details of my re-injury and minor set backs.

Things could be worse. The challenge ahead of me is to stay off the OR table and work hard to make sure this doesn't happen again. Also to get my body back in good physical condition so I can be a help around the house, and not be a hinderance and hassle to my wife, who really deserves all credit for not plunging a knife into my chest and skinning me al la Hannibal Lector. (Something she could get away with because no jury would convict her. )

So, is there a lesson in all this? I'm sure there is somewhere. Patience, compassion, sympathy, empathy, and maybe even endurance. But I have to say it was all worth it as I sit here in this beautiful kitchen and will always know, We did this.