Back in the 1960s, 1970s and early 80s I drove coast-to-coast a number of times — 20 one-way trips, actually.
Part of the fun was doing it as efficiently as I could. In the 60s the Interstate system was still a work in progress, so every year when I was traveling I’d buy a road atlas and search for a route with the most freeway mileage. Of course I still had to drive a number of stretches on two-lane roads, often enough in a queue behind a slow-moving truck or travel trailer. About the most miles I could manage per 14-hour driving day in those conditions was 700.
By the turn of the1970s, the system was nearing completion. In my ’68 Volvo 142 I did about 950 miles on a couple occasions. Then the Big Gas Crunch hit, and the government’s infinite wisdom dictated that absurd 55 MPH speed limit. That made seriously long mileage days hard to attain.
But just before that, I traded the Volvo for a Porsche 914 with its huge gas tank (scaled for the 916 6-cylinder model) that allowed a 600 mile cruising range at 30 MPG. In that car, I drove from Albany, NY to Seattle in three days. Another time I began the day in Evanston, WY and wound up in Columbia, MO — some 1300 or so miles away. I wanted to stop sooner, but was experiencing strong thunderstorms in eastern Kansas and didn’t want to pull off the highway. And in Missouri in those days, all the motels seemed to be 10 miles off I-70, so I wasn’t willing to stop until I reached Columbia late in the evening. And then slept for 11 hours, spoiling my plans for the next day.
Even in recent years I’ve driven between Seattle and Holister, CA in one 15-hour day, a little more than 900 miles. I’m not sure I’d want to try such a thing now: Seattle to San Francisco in one day will have to do.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Monday, April 24, 2017
Draft Dodger
One small part of the mud being slung at Donald Trump is that he dodged the draft during the Viet Nam War.
As best I recall, most young men back in those days were not happy with the prospect of being drafted and many, both left and right, did what they could to get deferred. So I don’t consider that a black mark against anyone.
In fact, I was a draft-dodger.
I beat the draft by enlisting in the Army for three years.
As best I recall, most young men back in those days were not happy with the prospect of being drafted and many, both left and right, did what they could to get deferred. So I don’t consider that a black mark against anyone.
In fact, I was a draft-dodger.
I beat the draft by enlisting in the Army for three years.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
California Economic Danger Signs
I recently returned from a 12-day California visit. While there, I noticed a few troubling signs of economic weakness in places one might expect to be prosperous. Be aware that I'm committing journalism here: nothing statistical.
Palm Desert's El Paseo, an upscale shopping street that includes a small, open-air mall lost at least two art galleries since I was last there a year ago. At least one of them was a branch of a Carmel-by-the-Sea gallery that remains open. Another gallery moved to the sunnier, hotter, and probably less-expensive side of the street.
I also noticed that more shops were closed compared to last year. A corner site once occupied by Coldwater Creek has remained closed for several years.
However, the somewhat funky South Palm Canyon Drive up in Palm Springs seemed to be doing just fine.
The situation was worse along Santa Barbara's State Street. A vibrant shopping zone a dozen years ago, it began its decline with the Great Recession and conditions steadily worsened since. Last year there were many unoccupied store sites, and this year there were noticeably more vacancies, even in the Paseo Nuevo shopping mall.
The one bright upscale spot I visited was Carmel-by-the-Sea's main drag, Ocean Avenue.
Given California's political leadership, I doubt that matters will improve.
Palm Desert's El Paseo, an upscale shopping street that includes a small, open-air mall lost at least two art galleries since I was last there a year ago. At least one of them was a branch of a Carmel-by-the-Sea gallery that remains open. Another gallery moved to the sunnier, hotter, and probably less-expensive side of the street.
I also noticed that more shops were closed compared to last year. A corner site once occupied by Coldwater Creek has remained closed for several years.
However, the somewhat funky South Palm Canyon Drive up in Palm Springs seemed to be doing just fine.
The situation was worse along Santa Barbara's State Street. A vibrant shopping zone a dozen years ago, it began its decline with the Great Recession and conditions steadily worsened since. Last year there were many unoccupied store sites, and this year there were noticeably more vacancies, even in the Paseo Nuevo shopping mall.
The one bright upscale spot I visited was Carmel-by-the-Sea's main drag, Ocean Avenue.
Given California's political leadership, I doubt that matters will improve.
Friday, March 24, 2017
The Clock at the Biltmore
55 years ago, St. Paddy's Day also fell on a Friday. I was in New York City at the time, having just exited Grand Central Terminal following my trip down from New Rochelle on the New Haven RR's Stamford Local. My immediate mission: to view the clock at the Biltmore.
In those days, St. Patrick's Day was more YUGE than nowadays, and being on a Friday made it moreso. Yalie guys would ride the New Haven to Grand Central, exit on 42nd Street as I did, turn right, cross Vanderbilt Avenue to the Biltmore Hotel (long since razed) and head for the large clock in the lobby area.
The slogan for Ivy League guys and Seven Sisters gals was, "I'll meet you under the clock at the Biltmore." So while the Yalies were on their way, presumably Vassar girls were taking the New York Central down from Poughkeepsie and Smithies and Mt. Holyoke students were on their way from central Massachusetts.
I had no date, being a lowly slick-sleeve Army private from the Information School at Fort Slocum, years away from my own Ivy League days. But I did make a point of entering the Biltmore and checking out the clock scene. Nothing much was happening, so I continued on my way to my favorite cheap Italian restaurant down on West 34th Street.
In those days, St. Patrick's Day was more YUGE than nowadays, and being on a Friday made it moreso. Yalie guys would ride the New Haven to Grand Central, exit on 42nd Street as I did, turn right, cross Vanderbilt Avenue to the Biltmore Hotel (long since razed) and head for the large clock in the lobby area.
The slogan for Ivy League guys and Seven Sisters gals was, "I'll meet you under the clock at the Biltmore." So while the Yalies were on their way, presumably Vassar girls were taking the New York Central down from Poughkeepsie and Smithies and Mt. Holyoke students were on their way from central Massachusetts.
I had no date, being a lowly slick-sleeve Army private from the Information School at Fort Slocum, years away from my own Ivy League days. But I did make a point of entering the Biltmore and checking out the clock scene. Nothing much was happening, so I continued on my way to my favorite cheap Italian restaurant down on West 34th Street.
Coincidences
Nancy, my late wife, was fascinated by full moons. She: “Don, there’s a full moon! Come look.” Me, thinking: “Big deal. I know what they look like.”
She died the day of a full moon.
Which happened to be my daughter’s birthday.
Her older son happened to schedule her memorial for 20 May, citing various logistical reasons.
That would have been our 11th wedding anniversary.
Apparently some coincidences do come in threes.
She died the day of a full moon.
Which happened to be my daughter’s birthday.
Her older son happened to schedule her memorial for 20 May, citing various logistical reasons.
That would have been our 11th wedding anniversary.
Apparently some coincidences do come in threes.
How I Got Started
It was almost exactly 12 years ago that I got involved with blogging. Since then I’ve written more than 2000 blog posts.
The first blog for me was the late, lamented (because it was pretty popular) 2Blowhards blog. The guy running it was Ray Sawhill who wrote bylined articles on art and culture for Newsweek magazine in the 1980s and 90s. Ray blogged using the nom-du-blog “Michael Blowhard” in order to maintain separation from his Newsweek day job. The other Blowhard was “Friedrich von Blowhard,” a Princeton buddy of Ray’s based in Los Angeles.
The blogging software they used was primitive by today’s standards — an important defect being that post drafts couldn’t be stockpiled for later publication scheduling. That meant each post had to go live shortly after it was written. That put strain on the bloggers who wanted content flowing at the rate of one or two posts per day in order to keep readers interested and returning to see what was new.
So for some reason Ray pulled me from the commenter ranks to full-time 2Blowhards blogger to ease the load on the original two. Except that I posted using my actual name.
At first, I was worried that I could maintain a reasonably high rate of posting. I knew I had perhaps a dozen really nice items that I could write up, but after that? You see, I recalled what happened when old vaudeville stars such as Eddie Cantor first appeared in TV “specials.” They used the good stuff that they’d honed over decades on stage, so their first show would be a wowser. After that, in future specials, their material wasn’t nearly as good due to lack of testing.
So I resolved to hold back on my so-called good stuff and write what came to mind each day. And it worked. As far as I recall, I never used up the “good stuff.”
Here’s the deal. Be sure to blog on topics you know something about. Then you must stay alert and notice things related to those subjects that might serve as hooks for posts. It’s even better if you can relate whatever it might be to similar or opposite examples, because that can make for a deeper, more interesting post. Apparently, it’s a special skill set: Ray Sawhill once told me that he thought I was “a natural blogger.”
Eventually, after his Newsweek buyout, Sawhill tired of 2Blowhards and turned it over to me. I carried on for a few months and finally decided to strike out on my own. My first blog, Art Contrarian, debuted in 2010. It is based on the idea that modernism in art was an experiment that largely failed. More interesting work had been done by more traditional painters in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Illustration, architecture and industrial design are other subjects I treat.
I’ve always been interested in automobile styling, so in 2013 I started Car Style Critic blog. I post two articles per week on each blog and maintain a backlog of two or three months’ worth of post drafts. Readership for each blog is several hundred page views daily, which is good enough for me.
The first blog for me was the late, lamented (because it was pretty popular) 2Blowhards blog. The guy running it was Ray Sawhill who wrote bylined articles on art and culture for Newsweek magazine in the 1980s and 90s. Ray blogged using the nom-du-blog “Michael Blowhard” in order to maintain separation from his Newsweek day job. The other Blowhard was “Friedrich von Blowhard,” a Princeton buddy of Ray’s based in Los Angeles.
The blogging software they used was primitive by today’s standards — an important defect being that post drafts couldn’t be stockpiled for later publication scheduling. That meant each post had to go live shortly after it was written. That put strain on the bloggers who wanted content flowing at the rate of one or two posts per day in order to keep readers interested and returning to see what was new.
So for some reason Ray pulled me from the commenter ranks to full-time 2Blowhards blogger to ease the load on the original two. Except that I posted using my actual name.
At first, I was worried that I could maintain a reasonably high rate of posting. I knew I had perhaps a dozen really nice items that I could write up, but after that? You see, I recalled what happened when old vaudeville stars such as Eddie Cantor first appeared in TV “specials.” They used the good stuff that they’d honed over decades on stage, so their first show would be a wowser. After that, in future specials, their material wasn’t nearly as good due to lack of testing.
So I resolved to hold back on my so-called good stuff and write what came to mind each day. And it worked. As far as I recall, I never used up the “good stuff.”
Here’s the deal. Be sure to blog on topics you know something about. Then you must stay alert and notice things related to those subjects that might serve as hooks for posts. It’s even better if you can relate whatever it might be to similar or opposite examples, because that can make for a deeper, more interesting post. Apparently, it’s a special skill set: Ray Sawhill once told me that he thought I was “a natural blogger.”
Eventually, after his Newsweek buyout, Sawhill tired of 2Blowhards and turned it over to me. I carried on for a few months and finally decided to strike out on my own. My first blog, Art Contrarian, debuted in 2010. It is based on the idea that modernism in art was an experiment that largely failed. More interesting work had been done by more traditional painters in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Illustration, architecture and industrial design are other subjects I treat.
I’ve always been interested in automobile styling, so in 2013 I started Car Style Critic blog. I post two articles per week on each blog and maintain a backlog of two or three months’ worth of post drafts. Readership for each blog is several hundred page views daily, which is good enough for me.
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