The Mets Lost 5-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers

 

Our 20-game plan for this season included last night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.  I thought that Tuesday night's victory could start a winning streak, but I was wrong.

Christian Yellich with 3 hits and 2 RBIs led the Brewers to a 5-2 victory over the Mets who are now 36-44, have lost 17 of their last 23 games, and are now 8 1/2 games behind the last wild card position in the standings.

Tommy Pham's performance with 3 for 3 and a long home run was the only highlight for the Mets who face the Brewers again tonight.

Game Recap

My Memories of Bob Shannon (1948-2023) - He Was Radio Personality Extraordinaire

 

Bob Shannon at CBS Radio Day at Yankee Stadium in 2010

Yesterday, we heard from Connie Shannon that her husband Bob just passed away after a long illness.  If you are not familiar with Bob Shannon, there is a bio of him on the Wikipedia

 

I’d like for this journal entry to convey my personal experiences with Bob.  I wrote him many times in this journal   I had the pleasure of meeting him twice:

• In the mid-1990s he appeared at the opening of a Genovese Drug Store in Whitestone

• He appeared at the CBS Radio Day at Yankee Stadium in June 2010.

He came to WCBS-FM in the 1980s in its heyday as an oldies station.  For most of his early years there, he was on the air from 6 PM – 10 PM and hosted the Hall of Fame, which featured specialty programming.  The “Lost Hit” feature was my favorite.  There was Tuesday Night Trivia, when survey guy Tom Natoli answered most of the questions correctly.  Whenever I dialed in, I got a busy signal.

Very often, I sent requests for songs to Bob that he played.  My fondest memory of him was in March 1988 when he announced my son Lee’s birth over the air after he played What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

Bob worked at WCBS-FM until June 3, 2005, when the executives flipped the station to the dreadful Jack format.  At that time, Bob was very active in social media protesting that miserable format change.  At that time, he moderated the Oldies Message Board, now done by Mike Riccio.  In July 2007, WCBS-FM came back as a classic hits station, and Bob was rehired.  In early 2012 Bob did not appear on the station as Ron Parker or Joe Causi filled in for him.  Finally, in July 2012 it was stated on the New York Radio Message Board that Bob left the station due to an undisclosed health condition.

After that time, Bob was completely incommunicado. I believe that medical matters should be confidential.  During the last 11 years, everyone hoped that Bob was OK.  We got the bad news yesterday that he passed away.

Radio enthusiast Alan Seltzer said Bob was a great radio DJ demonstrating great timing, expertise in the music he played, and a warped sense of humor and concern about his audience, fitting it all in short song intros. Many had two of the three, but Bob Shannon had all three. There was nobody better.  I second his thought that he was concerned about his audience.

Art Vuolo, Radio’s Best Friend. Produced a video tribute to Bob that can be found at https://vimeo.com/840658230 

Rest in peace, Bob.  You are fondly remembered by all enthusiasts of oldies radio.

Dating Yesterday and Today - The Bathroom Line and Ghosting

 

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s I often went to singles dances to try to meet a young lady to date.  We used to refer to them as "meat markets".  If someone danced with you, the next step would be to initiate a conversation.  Very often, the young lady would say she has to go to the bathroom and stay there for several minutes.  This meant that the young lady didn't want to meet the gentleman.

In this cell phone era, there are many dating apps.  The man or women would post a photo and list their respective interests.  The computer program would try to make matches.  Since it is now over two years since Karen's untimely passing, I thought it would be OK to test the "dating waters".  So far, I have checked out two dating apps.  When a match is made, an online chat ensues.  All of a sudden, the chatp ends.  This is called ghosting.  It means that the women does not want to talk over the phone or meet in person.

Thus, ghosting has replaced the bathroom line in the quest for dates.

Bob Dylan Medley from 1965 Featuring George Maharis of Route 66 Fame

 

I found this on Twitter.  It must have been from a variety TV show back in 1965 as George Maharis, Joe and Eddie, Dionne Warwick and The Animals sing a medley of Dylan songs.  George Maharis passed away on Dylan's birthday in 2023 at age 94.

Pledging My Time Conversations with Bob Dylan Band Members by Ray Padgett - A Book Review

 

In February 2021 I complained in this journal that there were just too many books about Bob Dylan that are being published and that I have read enough of them.  The newer books seem to uncover information that was never reported before.  Some of these books are very scholarly, and one likely needs a doctorate to understand them.  Ray Padgett, a writer, and blogger has just written Pledging My Time: Conversations with Bob Dylan Members.  Ray certainly pledged his time in seeking out the musicians that he interviewed. Some of them are well-known figures including:

• Noel Paul Stookey
• Jim Keltner
• Marshall Crenshaw
• Jeff Bridges
• Larry Campbell

I was not familiar with some of the interviewees including:

• Fred Tackett
• Tony Marsico
• John Fields
• Benmont Tench

The musicians discussed how Dylan recruited them and how Dylan coached them.  Many of them concurred that Dylan was not very talkative.  There were a few non-musicians interviewed including the notorious “Soy Bomb” aka Michael Portnoy who crashed Dylan’s 1998 Grammy Awards Performance as he played Love Sick.  Some of his interviews may be sampled at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpRsvAWkrSs .

Certainly, Ray could not interview every musician who played with Dylan. Sadly, some have passed away.  Bruce Langone and Mike Bloomfield come to mind.  Some of the ones not included were:

• Al Kooper
• GE Smith
• Tony Garnier
• George Recile

None of the musicians on the current leg of the Never Ending Tour were interviewed.  Perhaps some of the musicians not in the book will be later interviewed in Ray Padgett’s online publications.

I highly recommend this book for all Dylan fans especially those who have followed his career for decades. Readers won’t need a doctorate in English literature to understand it.

 

 

 

I Dodged an Internet Panhandling Scam

 About a month ago I received a Facebook post from CSC saying Wow There are really good articles and interesting posts on your timeline. I checked your posts and you always posted good writing and beautiful pictures, But we are not Facebook friends. I sent a friend request, but it didn't work Tried several times but didn't go through. Please add me or send a friend request so we can become friends Thank you...

I never know if any of my Facebook posts, tweets, and journal entries impact a reader.  I friended this person and proceeded to have online chats with her.  She was 35 years old and a member of the U.S. Army stationed in Syria.  I did advise her that I was considerably older than her, but she did not have a problem with that.  For a few days, we chatted and exchanged some personal information.  All of a sudden, she asked me to purchase a card for her so she can play computer games while she was off duty.  At first, I was willing to spend $50 on it, but wisely changed my mind.  She became angry and abruptly ended the chat.

A few days later I did a Google search of her and found out you pulled the same stunt on two more Facebook users.  I suppose she picked me at random.  We all must be careful when we use social media.

This Video Summarizes Bob Dylan's Love Interests; But Someone May be Omitted

 

However, check back to my Journal entry of November 3, 2022, where I post an excerpt from Jann Wenner's autobiography where he states that in 2019, he met Bob Dylan and his wife at a party for Bruce Springsteen.  Do any of the Dylan scholars know who she is?