'Darkness radio interview'....

In case you missed it 'live' on Wednesday night, here is the
link to my interview on Darkness Radio in the Twin Cities
with Dave Schrader's fill in host Tim Dennis.
The discussion starts at 11:00 minutes into the program.
Their producer tells me I'll be back on before too long to
talk with Dave, as there is a lot of things we didn't get
to talk about....have a great day out there folks.
The link is;
http://twincitiesnewstalk.iheart.com/media/play/27465594/

'Turn around or not?'

A photo taken at a cemetery in Waterloo, N.Y. kind of says it all for those taking the
side road in.....a picture is worth a thousand words I think the old saying was.

Now that you are here, scroll down and enjoy some of the latest stories I've posted..
 just in time for Halloween....

The house upon the hill..

A very close encounter...

The scarecrow...
 and several more. They are all short reads and I think you'l enjoy them. Thanks
and take care!

'So many abandoned cemeteries'......

It's a shame, but each year more and more cemeteries around the country are being

abandoned.  There are several reasons for it. Many cities and towns just don't have the

money or the man power to keep them up. Mowing, clearing brush, re-setting stones

that have toppled because of weather, age and/or vandalism takes time and money.  

Especially this is becoming epidemic in rural areas around the country. Few young

people want to 'step up' to help in maintaining the final resting place for those who

have gone before.  Maybe we should collectively start a new national campaign or

group to address the problem.. what do you think?  Is there an abandoned cemetery

or two near where you live?  You can leave a comment below if you wish, I'd love

to hear from you.  The picture above is of the Bayside-Acacia Cemetery in Queens.

' A thanks to the library'....

Many thanks to the folks at the Newark, N.Y. library, and especially Karen Vanderbrook.

I had the great opportunity to speak with them on Friday, Sept. 9th and talk about my

book Undertakings of an Undertaker. Following a nice luncheon at noon, I spoke for

about 40 minutes about the funeral business and answered many many questions from

the thirty+ people that were in attendance. Even bumped into a couple of people I knew

from almost four decades ago!  It is a small world indeed. Next up; a possible second

signing at the Dog Ear Book Store in Palmyra, perhaps late October... and a trip to

Rochester retired teachers group early next year. Stay tuned... there will be mores short

stories coming soon... after all, with Halloween just around the corner....it's a natural time

to tell some good tales. As you scroll down the site here, you will find, I think, about 15

short stories I have posted.. and you can add comments at the end if you so desire..

Thanks for stopping in.. let's have a long fall.. and good health to you and yours!

Dead .......and not forgotten.

Dead..... and not forgotten.


Well, 39 years ago this week the King of Rock and Roll Elvis went on to
meet his maker.  August 16th, 1977.  Remember the week pretty well. It
was just before I was getting ready to go to mortuary school, and was still
in broadcasting at the time.  On that Saturday night, four days after his passing,
I was doing a live broadcast on 1180 WHAM in Rochester. My program was
the Saturday night soft sounds., aired from 7 pm to 12 midnight. I followed
the late David A. Sennett, who was a fantastic broadcaster and a true professional.

I remember the first night I went on the air at 1180. Just before David finished
his show, he turned to me and said..."think nothing of the audience you'll be
talking to tonight...when you open the mic switch, you'll probably get into
over 30 states, Canada, Greenland and some 'skip' overseas."
Wow. I was petrified.  Thanks David for scaring me to death my first night.

Anyway, that first Saturday night after Elvis died, I did the usual soft sounds
which included Anne Murray, Perry Como, Bobby Vinton, you get the
drift... it's was dreamy type music to enjoy your Saturday night by.  And as
a show of respect, we mixed in a few of Elvis's more romantic tunes.

Can't say I was a huge Elvis fan.  I liked some of, but not all of his music. I don't
know if I would have gone to see him if he had played a concert near me.

Funny, his estate is now making more money with him dead than when he was alive.

Funny how that works. Elvis, Beatles and others. True legends for sure.

Will they be 'played' fifty years from now?  Good chance.

Coming up .......

In the works.....

Friday and Gannon......

A few trivial facts about the famous duo...

Jack Webb would pay $25 to any L.A. police officer who submitted a story that was used for an episode of the TV show Dragnet.

Through all 100 episodes of the series, Friday is only seen wearing something other than his regular suit four times: three times for undercover work and once for a scene in his apartment.

Friday and Gannon used a 1967 Ford Fairlane 4dr. sedan as their squad car.

Gannon and Friday's car was known as unit 1K80

Bill Gannon was married and stated he had four children, while Joe Friday was a confirmed bachelor

When Jack Webb revived the show in 1966, it was in response to the growing tide of teen-age drug use, especially LSD.

For the sake of continuity, Friday and Gannon always wore the same outfits in every episode. According to Harry Morgan, he and Jack Webb decided to switch coats for one scene to see if anyone noticed. Because only Morgan was in the scene, no one on the set realized it until the scene had been shot. In the next scene, Morgan has on the correct coat. This is the only incident of faulty continuity in the series' run