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Beau Wann, Jr.
Ok, for the second time, I will try to input this information...dang, that is so disheartening and frustating when I type for a while, only to have it disappear. My fault for sure.
Remember Cellar Door? Jimmy Walkers in kemah? Paul Berlin of KNUZ 1230 AM radio fame use to advertise for both Cellar Door and Kaphans. When their time slot came up, Paul would crinkle paper like he was unwrapping a piece of fried heaven, and smack his lips and lick his fingers, so it sounded. That kind of marketing stradgedy woiked, cause it got me hungry everytime. If I wasnt woikin, or it wasnt too late, I would hop in my 51 ford and run over to the Texan Drivein on Old Hempstead Hwy and 18th street and get a jumbo fried shrimp basket, and a rootbeer. All for the princely sum of $1.25.
I should have remembered Sonny Looks! Been there a zillion times. That place was 2nd to none for food and service. Remember the white knight and white horse that stood out front of the one on Westheimer? Sometimes ol Sonny Look would greet customers. He opened one downtown on old market square! Dont remember when opened it, but one of my many 2nd jobs after my stint in the service, was at VILLAGE INN PIZZA on old market square. I was bartender, pizza maker, ID checker and bouncer and cleaner upper. I was suppose to throw unruly people out! ! ! I weighed all of 145 pounds. If anyone was gonna get thrown out, it would probably be me!
Howsomever...One of the members of the band, was Big Frank Bataglia! He was the saxaphone player in the horn section of the band...any guesses to the bands name? Thats right, THE SOUTHWEST FREEWAY. Anyway If there was an unruly person, which was rare, I would ask that person to tone it down or leave. Of course, 6'6" tall, and 6'6" wide Big Frank would always be standing behind me. Woiked every time! Frank was a great sax player. He played in the famed ONE OCLOCK BAND of North Texas State.
Hadnt thought of that name in years. Other members of the band were; Tom Cummings on drums, and what a drummer he was. As good as any one I had ever heard, and that included Gene Krupa, Louis Belson and Buddy Rich. Tom was that good! Bill Roe played bass and also one of the best basists I had ever heard. Almost as good as Isreal Crosby (of George Shearing fame). Isreal Crosby played the stand up bass, or bull fiddle. Youre probably wondering how I would know whether any one player was as good as a well known one. Well, I studied up on all that stuff! If there was a college course on jazz and music knowledge, I would have gotten my doctorate in it. Now, I'm not so good at it anymore...got old and forgettful.
I use to be able to tell you who was playing what instrument in just about any well known band, even with no prior knowledge of the band playing at the time. It was style! I can still tell most piano players by their style. Not brag, just fact of old!
I thought the SOUTHWEST FREEWAY was as good as band as any, and better than most. there were other band members, just dont remember their names. One was a band director at one of the high schools, that I dont remember which. The managers of GRANDFUNK RAILROAD came down one night, with thoughts of signing THE SOUTHWEST FREEWAY. But that fell through because they said that the FREEWAY sounded more like CHICAGO than CHICAGO did! Oh, the lead singer was Harold Hutchison. He sounded just like Terry Kath of Chicago fame. I think Harold went on to be in Cats or some broadway production.
I am so glad I was not talented on the guitar or anything like that. A musicians life is as hard as it gets. For all the overnight sensations that spring up, you can bet they spent the last 10 or 20 years on the road playing in dives and honky tonks and getting paid very little. Well, yall all know that.
Bennie, the answer to your Robert Mitchum question is...5 CARD STUD...it was his characters brother that was hanged after a card game, and Bob came back for revenge. Dean Martin was also in the movie.
I drive by the Delmar complex everyday, and didnt notice it was gone!
Remember THE DONUT HOLE? There was one at 18th and old hempstead hwy that turned into the ABC propane place, and now they have closed their doors. Lots of stuff happened up around 18th and mangum and hempstead highway. The TEXAN drivein, Hempstead drivein theater, the donut hole, and you could catch a greyhound bus to College Station all in that intersection.
I was overseas during the GAME OF THE CENTURY...UH AND UCLA. My beloved was there, because she and her family were UH alum. Well, she was still in highschool of junior high. Back then, if you liked sports, and you were overseas, you got everythjing a week late. They literally shipped the tapes over seas. All before satellites, or useable commercial ones! But I didnt care about sports, and no one I worked with did either. We were too busy working, and when not doing that, drinking!
Someone mentioned MONUMENT INN! Was that the same as the SAN JACINTO INN? Man, I am so hungry right now, and it's almost midnight.
Oh, went to K rogers this evening, we were out of eggs. Got there about 8, and the store looked like it had been ransacked. I had know idear that folks were panicing stocking up with food to last for a year, for our one day winter storm that may or maynot materialize. One guy had two baskets loaded down with FROZEN PIZZAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I kid you not. As he was pulling away from the frozen food section, I saw one pizza in the back of the case, and called to him, "hey, you forgot one". He looked at me like it was the last pizza on earth, and I had just stolen it from him. "Dont you want it" he said. "No, my freezer is already full of pizza" says I. He snatched it out of my hands, and off he went. Is that all that anyone eats, FROZEN PIZZA? I wouldnt eat that stuff on a bet!
I like fresh pizza. I have never found ANY frozen pizza to compare to a fresh one!
I shoudnt be surprised that people are in a panic about this. The news media screams "THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING" , all the time, and folks believe it! We have enough food to last us a month as it is, and we never really did that on purpose, just happened!
OK, probably ought to go to bed, but not sleepy. Maybe I'll straighten up my sock drawer.
Got the ZAMBONI warming up for tomorrows ice. Got my snowshoes ready and ice skates sharpened and cross country skies all waxed up for our 2nd day of winter. I think I'm gonna just chill, or warm indoors. Oh, did ride Pegasus today. A tad windy, but still theraputic.
keep the sun at your xis and ride boldly ride...
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