Haunted Highway

It's coming soon, and if you want to make sure you have enough time to watch all of your favorite great scary movies again before Halloween you should get started right now.  For me, and most likely for you also, it has become somewhat of a tradition every year toward the middle to end of October to start watching those old (and some not so old)  spooky-gory-awful movies that we've come to love over the years.  For some of you, those old movies may bring back fun and fond memories of younger days and simpler times when movie watching seemed to be more of an event than it is now, and required perhaps a little more imagination than today's features where the gross-out factor runs pretty high. 

And speaking of "features," does anybody remember CREATURE FEATURES?  Now wait a minute.  Don't answer too quickly, because I'm talking about the original Creature Features broadcast Saturday nights at 9:30 on cable tv from WGN out of Chicago.  If you were born after 1970, you likely missed the first and still the best spook show series ever to appear on television.  I still clearly remember those Saturday nights in 1971 & 1972 gathering with a few of my friends in Louie's attic-slash-bedroom to watch shows like The Mummy, The Wolfman, and Creature From the Black Lagoon.  I couldn't wait for the new TV Guide to arrive in the mail each week so I could throw it open and check what was coming up that weekend.

So as a public service, I offer this list of movies guaranteed to fill your nights leading up to Halloween with chills, thrills and frights galore! 

The Wolfman.  Just be sure it's the original 1940s version starring Lon Chaney.  You might find yourself actually feeling sorry for him by the end of the movie.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  The two best versions are the Disney animated version from the late 50s...but we're not talking Mickey Mouse here folks...and the late 90s movie with Johnny Depp.  Can't go wrong with that one either...I mean c'mon...it's Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane.

Night of The Living Dead.  60s black and white original. Very disturbing. Very scary. 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  This time I recommend the remake over the original.  Donald Sutherland was the best pod person ever!

King Kong.  The 1933 original for sure.  If you aren't rooting for the ape during the final 20 minutes of this movie you are one cold-hearted human.

The 'burbs.  Okay, so this is not really a "scary" movie but that scene with Art and Ray in the basement is classic.  (chanting) "I wanna kill...every one..."

The Sixth Sense.  I was one of the apparently very few who didn't figure out the ending in advance.  Did not see that coming at all.

Ghostbusters.  Again, not scary but it has "ghost" in the title and so many great lines.  "He slimed me."

Cat People.  From the early 80s, I think.  Some Russsian chick turns into a leopard and goes on a rampage.  Hey, it could happen.

It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  Proving once again that you're never too old.  

One more thing.  The Charlie Brown movie contains some good advice from Lucy.....

"A person's Halloween costume should always be in direct contrast to their personality."

                                                                           boo.

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Random Road

Too cold to ride.  Too windy to golf.  Too lazy to mow.  It turned out to be one of those days off when doing nothing seemed like the right thing to do.  I had time to think about some things, though.  Nothing in particular.  Just some random thoughts and observations that came to mind and then wouldn't go away.  Kind of like those times when you get a song stuck in your head and you can't get it out.  The only way to clear my brain today seemed to be to write some stuff down.  So that's what I did.........

* Librarians are not very friendly people, at least while they are working.  They scowl and frown a lot.  I'm not sure if it's because they aren't very happy or maybe I just catch them on a bad day.  I can't ever seem to engage them in any form of conversation or get them to crack even a hint of a smile.  I'm usually pretty good at that.  I intend to investigate this theory more thoroughly in the future.

* All...not some...ALL career politicians are self-serving, conceited, controlling, clueless, arrogant, pompous phonies who care more about keeping their job and being cool than doing the right thing.  Two words: term limits.

* I wish I could write like this:

"I’d come from a long ways off and had started a long ways down. But now destiny was about to manifest itself.  I felt like it was looking right at me and nobody else."
Bob Dylan - Chronicles, Volume I

"Time is but the stream I go fishing in. I drink at it, but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. It's thin current slides away, but eternity remains."
-- Henry David Thoreau

"I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down"
Joni Mitchell

"I didn't know the full dimensions of forever, but I knew it was longer than waiting for Christmas to come." 
Richard Brautigan


* Sometimes your best friends are the ones you don't see every day, or every week, or even longer.  It doesn't matter if they are in another town or even a thousand miles away, when they really are a true and trusted friend you just know somehow that they are thinking of you at the same time you are thinking of them. 
  

* It would be nice to still get a letter in the mail once in awhile.  Not an email or a text, but a real letter. Hand written on actual paper and placed in an envelope.  I keep promising myself I am going to write a letter to a few old friends, but then I wonder if they will think there's some underlying message or hidden motive, or just question my mental state.  So I don't. Maybe I'm overthinking it and should just go with my impulse.  But, I probably won't.

* The year 2012 will not be the end of the world.  But I do believe the winds of change are blowing strong. 

* The Geico TV commercial about people doing dumb things with smart phones is pretty funny, and sadly quite true.

There, that's enough for today.  I feel better now. 

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Remembrance Road

Several days ago I was flipping through the tv channels during a pause in what was obviously not a very busy day, and noticed that on nearly every station someone was talking about the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  Everywhere were the horrific photos from that terrible day.  As I put down the remote and walked away I remember saying out loud to no one there "...this is too much. We need to get over it."   Now, after attending events honoring the 3,000 people that lost their lives on September 11, 2001,  I feel guilty about my thoughts of a few days ago.  I am really that shallow?  I understand now that we don't need "to get over it." We need to remember it every day of our lives.  We need to remember those that died that day, as well as their families and friends whose lives were forever changed.

One of the first things I noticed at the registration and line-up for the Remembrance Ride yesterday was the diversity of the group.  In attendance were men and women from all walks of life...young professionals to old hippies.  Plus clubs and organizations representing many interests and lifestyles...Hamsters to Sons of Armegeddon.  We all came to together in a common cause.

In a world filled with so much violence and hate, we need events like this to bring us together to remember, honor, hope, and pray that something like this will never happen again. That change will come. And that the world will be a better place.  Some day.

Sanctuary Road

Sometimes you just need to take a break. Get away.  Find a place to be quiet. To be still. To be thoughtful. My place for this is Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary in the Black Hills between Lead and Rochford.  You don't have to be religious or spiritual to visit.  In fact, you don't have to be anything except yourself.
I offer this short - and very amateur - video as what I hope will be an inspiration for you to visit this wonderful place.  And, I hope you find it magical, educational, interesting, inspiring, or any other word that may describe the experience in a way that will make it meaningful to you.
Before you begin your visit via the the following link,  there is a brief anecdote I would like to share.  As one travels along the paths there are benches placed at various intervals with notebooks, pens, pencils and crayons for anyone wishing to add a note, comment or illustration describing their personal thoughts.  One entry caught my eye and gave me hope that, in a world where sometimes you feel like your are being overwhelmed by terrible events and bad people, there is always a glimmer of hope for the future.  On this day that glimmer was provided to me by Heidi, age 5.  I took a picture of her entry in the journal but decided not to use it here out of respect for her privacy.  Besides, there was no way I could capture the pure honesty and sincerity of her comment in a photograph.  She had used the crayons to draw a rather fuzzy picture of the Earth, and right above the drawing, in a child's uneven handwriting, were the words "the world is neat."  It doesn't translate well in this context.  I guess you had to be there.  But if you ever are, look in the notebook located in the plastic container on the bench near the angel and child sculpture.  You'll see what I mean.

Road to Sturgis - What I Saw

Well, the 2011 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is history. I haven't seen the official counts yet but I'm certain the numbers are down from previous years. There just wasn't the same buzz this year...at least not for me. But it was fun hitting some familiar and favorite places -

And, as a dedicated observer of human nature , I am never disappointed by the variety of sights to be seen during this time of year -

Their own private celebration...of something.

Love...rally style.

More "shiny happy people." 

I did notice more custom and classic style motorcycles this year -

The body paint seemed a little more artistic -

And some of the vendors went from trying to be overly creative to just getting right to the point -

Now, one final comment about Harley Davidson riders.  They just can't stand to be passed by someone on another brand of motorcycle! Don't get me wrong.  I have some good friends and relatives who ride Harleys, so this isn't a criticism or complaint, just a fact that even they will have to admit is true.  Several times this past week it happened to me, including once when I decided to have some fun with it and maybe offer a lesson in humility (although the point was probably lost on this guy).  It happened on my way to Deadwood.  I ride a Valkyrie F6  and blew by a Harley as we started up the hill leading to town.  It didn't take very long for Mr. Harley Davidson to catch up and pass me, and as he did I increased my speed to stay on his tail all the way to the final curve before the city limits.  Here's where I had an advantage, because being local I knew that right around the corner the speed limit dropped to 45, and I also knew there was often a city police officer sitting right there ready to nab anyone who dared break the law in their town.  So right at the corner I backed off, Harley rider kept going, and sure enough  BOOM there was a copper right there waiting - and he lit that Ultra Classic up immediately.  I didn't wave, gesture, or even smile. I just rode on by doing 45 in the left lane.  After thinking about it, I feel kind of bad about setting the guy up like that.  But I just couldn't resist the easy target.  We all know that the universe...karma...fate...or whatever other great equalizer might be out there...will see to it that I don't get way with it completely.  Payback is coming.  Not sure when or where, but I am pretty sure it will happen.  Hope I'm ready for it and that "they" will go easy on me.

~

End Of The Road

And you read your Emily Dickinson

And I my Robert Frost

And we note our place with bookmarkers

To measure what we've lost                                                        (P. Simon)

~

Side Roads (Sturgis Preview)

With only a few days left before the roar and rumble of motorcycles overcome the normal rattle and hum of the Black Hills, it seems like a good time to offer up some suggestions for rally goers and non rally goers alike.  If you are a regular "rallier" I suggest you take a break this year from the usual hangouts like Full Throttle Saloon and Buffalo Chip Campground.  I'm not saying not to go to those places, because they ARE fun if you like that sort of thing (and I do like that sort of thing on occasion), just don't make them your final or only destinations.  There are so many other "hidden treasures" out there that most people completely overlook or don't give a chance.  And if you are not a "rallier" maybe this year you should consider getting out of your comfort zone and try something different.  Expand your horizons.  Live a little. These are all places where you can be a pirate but not worry about ending up with an eye patch, a hook or a peg leg.  So go ahead and dig up some treasure!

First stop - Stone House Saloon.   Located about 5 miles west of Belle Fourche, or about 30 miles west of Sturgis, this is actually an old stone farmhouse that is only open during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
You'll find beer, burgers and quite an eclectic and diverse clientele.  Bikers, cowboys, local businessmen and women, students, even a few Canadians passing through who think they've discovered some tourist attraction that wasn't on the map they picked up at that truck stop in Wyoming.  I'm pretty sure there are more than a few tourists who pull in and end up having more fun here than at the Cosmos Mystery Area or Flinstones Village.  AND...back again this year it's Pee Wee Moore and the Awful Dreadful Snakes playing some of the best hillbilly rock and country music you'll ever hear around these parts.

Get there early.  They only play during the day from Noon to 5.

Not much further west off I-90 between Spearfish and Sundance is Beulah,Wyoming, home of the Sand Creek Trading Post.  Last year they had a makeshift pool bar set up outside with some fun waitresses with great attitudes serving cold beer and smiles.  I'm hoping it will be the same thing this year.  This is another place where you'll find a slightly strange mix of locals and visiting bikers all getting along and having a good time.

Another "bar" experience you may want to consider is a trip to the Moonshine Gulch Saloon in Rochford, approximately 25 miles south of Deadwood via Highway 385 or follow the Rochford Road out of Lead.  To give you an idea of what to expect - a few years ago I stopped in to grab a beer and a burger, and wanting to know exactly what I was getting, I asked the rather shaky old-timer behind the counter what they put on their cheeseburgers.  He raised an eyebrow and said in a very authoritative tone "Cheese!" But don't mistake anyone's demeanor for rudeness. That's just the way it is at the Moonshine.

By now you might be wondering if I have any suggestions other than bars.  As a matter of fact I do.  It is amazing how many people come to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally & Races, but never attend an actual motorcycle race.  You should consider taking in a Jackpine Gypsies sponsored Short Track Race or Hill Climb.  They are held every day during rally week right off I-90 between Sturgis exits 30 and 32.

Whether you are into motorcycles or not, think about seeing an actual custom bike show or builder's exhibit.  The combination of art, engineering and design is something almost anyone can appreciate.  Check out the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building in downtown Sturgis August 7th - 10th.  You will also find many custom bike builder exhibits at various locations around town.

And finally - go to a Biker Breakfast.  You'll find them at churches and senior citizen's centers throughout the Black Hills, and you don't have to be a biker to attend.  I've been told one of the best is offered up by members of the Spearfish Senior Center on 10th Street.  It goes from August 7th through the 13th, starting at 7 a.m. each day.   You may find something more than just breakfast there...like friendly and interesting people who truly are glad to see you, and appreciate the fact that you showed up.  I plan on making the rounds.  Hope I run into you some morning.  Not too early, though.  I mean...after all... it is Rally Week.

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