William F. Buckley, R.I.P.

My father was a lawyer who enjoyed coffee, smoking, and watching televised debates while screaming at the T.V. He was a smart guy, and did things like calling the White House to comment on the President's recent speeches, and writing letters to many national figures who had recently appeared on a television program he was screaming at. My earliest memories include sitting next to him watching William F. Buckley's program "Firing Line," as he guzzled coffee and I stared at the guys on T.V., trying to figure out the big words they were using, especially the guy with the clipboard. The thing was, the guy with the clipboard, William F. Buckley, seemed to be having a good time arguing with people, seemed to be friendly with the people he disagreed with so strongly, and seemed to be incredibly confident that he was right. I remember a conversation with a radio talk show host between my Dad and a tired radio hack, when my Dad brought up a point, giving credit to Mr. Buckley for it, and the host called my Dad a snob and hung up on him without listening to the point. That's when I started reading Mr. Buckley's work, a staggering number of books, including wonderful books on sailing, published journals of his massive creative output, and my favorite, a book simply titled "Nearer, my God." I heard about his death today on ABC radio, and in memory of Mr. Buckley on the day of his death, they played the audio of a debate in which Gore Vidal called him a "crypto-nazi." Some things never change.

May he rest in peace...after my Dad talks to him for a while over coffee.

Guitar Hero

Michael John Poirier is a dear friend of mine, and travels the country in an R.V. with his wife and children, singing and playing the guitar at churches and schools everywhere you can possibly imagine. When he's in Los Angeles, he stops by for a brief visit, and this one was ridiculously short, as we took out our guitars, played them together for a brief moment, and waved goodbye as he bolted out the door, off to the next concert. If you ever get the chance to see him, don't pass it up. Knowing Michael, he might be singing for two truckers and a waitress at a gas station somewhere, with all of them crying and hugging each other, so keep your eyes peeled. One day, maybe we'll have more time to play together. I know three chords, so it probably won't take up that much time.

Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Whenever I think of Valentine's Day, I always think of this episode of "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea," with Robert Duvall in it. Well, not every Valentine's Day, but this was on T.V. the other night, so I had to come up with a way to introduce it in the blog. I worked with Bobby Duvall in the cinematic masterpiece "Let's Get Harry," where he played a grizzled mercenary, helping some guys rescue Harry from drug smuggling terrorists. In "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" he played a robotic alien who takes over a fake submarine full of actors in the early sixties. His performance was tremendous as an inhuman, uncaring being from another planet, though that one must have been easier to play, being so much closer to Bobby in real life and all. Happy Valentine's Day!
Love from Wilson World,
Tom

Benedictine Blizzard

Benedictine College is a beautiful school in Atchison, Kansas, and I just performed a concert there, staying at an abbey full of Benedictine monks and having a ball - in a driving snowstorm! The students came out and packed the place anyway, and it was a great time in the true Benedictine spiritual tradition of stand up comedy and goofing off. I had fish and chips with a dear friend for an Ash Wednesday lunch, and slipped down the frozen streets, trying to find a four wheel drive car to get me to the airport. What a great time with such a huge number of great people. As I told the students there, I tell people I went to Catholic school and they look at me slyly, raising an eyebrow and saying "well...you know what that means! heh-heh" and I say "What, that I'm smarter than you?" Oddly enough, the students at this small Catholic liberal arts college really liked that one.
Oh, and another highlight of the trip? The new issue of "Kansas Monks" magazine. Yes! My subscription was renewed!
Love from Wilson World,
Tom

Reykjavik!

I'm back from London, where I can definitely say I love the United States of America, except for my new love for televised women's professional indoor field hockey! One of the highlights of the trip was staring down at the world from 40,000 feet and seeing a city in the middle of the vast northern Atlantic. Who on earth would live there? Well, lots of people, apparently, including the recently deceased nutty anti-semite chess champion Bobby Fisher. It was Iceland! Then across the frozen tundra of Greenland, Baffin Bay, the Northwest Territories of Canada, which seem to be in the NorthEAST. (?) And then we headed south, miles above my friends in Edmonton, Calgary, and finally

THANK GOD IN HEAVEN

Into American airspace. No wonder so many of them hate us at the same time they want to come here. We rock. Hey, people, it's Superbowl weekend, and I'm guzzling Coca Cola, pretzels, and Lee Greenwood albums.

Kansas City!

It's impossible to have a bad meal in Kansas City because of the beef. They put slabs of Kansas City beef in everything there. Vegetarians in Kansas City have petitioned to have beef considered a sort of thick, juicy cabbage-like product. If you think about it, if you stare at a steer for long enough and they stand really still it can look as though they're growing out of the ground. Don't try to fertilize one, though. I had a wonderful time at the Majestic Theatre there, and everyone was great. The radio and T.V. interviews were plentiful and fun, and I was amazed to find out that I was the final - I mean THE FINAL guest on the historic K.C. rock station KY. They've been on the air for decades, and ... well ... right after my interview - GONE. They were turning off desk lamps and taking down Duran Duran posters as I was talking. Sorry, KY. Now it's going to be one of those disembodied computer stations called "The Boulevard," run by HAL 9000 and Lumberg. (to get the previous reference you had to have seen the movies "2001: A Space Odyssey, AND "Office Space." Sorry.)

Dome and a half

At Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, the bald guy with binoculars just wouldn't get out of my way. He is now immortalized, forever linked to the majesty of Yosemite Valley and the High Sierra. Congratulations, Morty (real name unknown).

Happy New Year

Thanks to everyone in Chicago for a great bunch of shows, including a New Year's Eve blanketed in snow, a "de-icing" of the plane before take-off, and a sunny 75 degrees upon landing. A great '08 to everyone, at the end of twelve beautiful days of Christmas. At an office a few days ago, a woman very kindly offered me some "Holiday" cookies. She stressed "Holiday" even more than "cookies." It's getting rather absurd.

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style,
in the air there's a feeling of a secular observance of well being!