One Fine Day in Our Town

If you could do anything, what would you do?

(Papa, not Randolf)

Today’s Hemingway is Randolf Sears. Randolf is a middle school music teacher of 19 years, living in Apple Valley, CA. A graduate of Ohio University and a West Chester native, Randolf watches way too much sports and plays in a Tuba Ensemble. He enjoys desert sunsets, baseball on the radio and a Pliny.

Please give a hearty Mob hello to Randolf Sears.

Good Morning from the Mojave Desert, Mobsters! Let’s get right into it.

Baseball’s New Rules. The new Baseball rules are a hit. Well, more like a steal. Stolen bases are up 40% How disappointed is Billy Hamilton right now? He should have been 10 years younger so he could completely turn this season upside down and maybe even take home an MVP trophy. Runs are up, which is good for MLB, and game time is down, even better. I’m not sure I believe in Doc’s PWS but these changes may have slightly evened the playing field for small-market teams.

Billy Hamilton. (Sports Illustrated)

I root for the Dodgers these days and they seem to have been blindsided by how much other teams are running on them. The Dodgers have so much money it’s hard to imagine there isn’t a guy being paid an extraordinary salary just to focus on this one thing. I think the new rules will set up a wild finish with lots of teams hovering around .500.

Final Thought on the Bengals draft.  They selected Brad Robbins, Michigan’s punter, whose ‘stache game is right up there with Rollie Fingers.  Robbins didn’t expect to be drafted and thought someone was pranking him. I believe the 6th round pick will be the best player the Bengals drafted. 

My Perfect Cincinnati Day. Last Summer I visited Cincy and had one day where my Brother and Sister-in-Law graciously drove me around and let me do what I wanted. We started off that morning in their place in Pleasant Ridge with some fantastic coffee from La Terza , a local roaster.  

(Aside: My Brother recently quit his salaried job of 15 years and went all in on becoming a tattoo artist. It sounds crazy to me but it is so inspiring when someone bets it all on himself.)

We settled in for breakfast at Pleasant Ridge’s Cafe Alma , a little place for any time of day. Cafe Alma would fit perfectly into Silver Lake or Echo Park in LA. I spoke to the owner one morning and she had spent some time in Los Angeles and frequented the restaurants and cafes and thus the inspiration.

I wanted to visit a few record shops so we went to Everybody’s Records and Shake It Records. These two shops would hold up in any major city. I would rank Cincinnati ahead of NYC, Chicago, and Nashville in terms of quality places to purchase a record or CD. 

(Aside: Amoeba Music in Los Angeles is a must stop for those of you who are hoarding, I mean purchasing, physical media.)

Aside to the aside: I began collecting records in the early 2000’s and amassed a giant LP collection, a fancy turntable, and by about 2018 I was swimming in cellophane and vinyl. Every so often I tend to get anxious about “stuff” and “things,’’ so I did what any sane person would do and sold all of it. I grew tired of paying ridiculous prices for the “New, Limited Edition, Small Batch, Boutique, Only 1000 records pressed” game that collecting vinyl has turned into.

I loved the analog sound but I’ve been able to achieve it by other means. Now I’m buying CDs but fewer of them. I can explain in further detail in the comments if you’d like to see how big of a nerd I am. I could have very easily made my wife happy and just bought a box that streams music to a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) but why would I want to do something that simple? 

It was at Shake It Records where I was pointed to Mike’s Music - one of the most impressive vintage guitar stores I have ever visited. Mike’s Music has two locations, one near downtown and the other just across the river. The downtown location contains an embarrassment of fine and rare instruments. If you stop into the Northern KY shop, they can take you on a tour of their new recording studio and impressive collection of vintage recording equipment and amplifiers.

It’s definitely worth an afternoon and there’s plenty of places to get a drink while you’re there. I fell in love with an acoustic guitar, a 1955 Gibson J-50 at the NKY shop, It’ll be shipped to me the next week. The Gibson J-50 was used to record this song , as well as many, many more. 

It’s the Law. My favorite people in sports have usually been the announcers (Marty was the soundtrack for my summers) and the journalists (our host included). When I moved near LA, Clippers games were the only NBA games televised on my cable package and I quickly became enamored with Ralph Lawler, the Clippers play-by-play man for 40 years. No one has endured more losing than Ralph. He combined a knowledge for the game with joy and exuberance. He is responsible for keeping the Clippers semi-relevant while being LA’s forgotten team.

Ralph retired a few years ago and I am not ashamed to say I cried. Ralph wrote a memoir recently and it has been a joy to read. Check it out if you want to learn how the fledgling NBA used a “territorial draft” to increase its audience. But also read it because Ralph loves Basketball more than anyone on Earth.

NBA Playoffs. The NBA playoffs are my favorite in all of professional sports. It’s non-stop entertainment every night of the week, occasionally interrupted by Charles Barkley making a fool of himself. Seeds 6,7, and 8 have all had a win and thrown a wrench in the NBA’s youth movement. I’ve got a good feeling it’s going to be a Nuggets/Celtics Finals matchup. The Nuggets have been waiting for their opportunity and Jokic seems ready to finally get them over the hump. 

Nikola Jokic

Willie Still Smokin’ at 90. This past weekend Willie Nelson celebrated his 90th birthday with a two-night “smoke-fest” with some background music. I’m not sure what happened to me but as I have aged, his music (and other songwriters like him) have become more appealing. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain is Willie at his very best.

Teacher Appreciation. Next week is Teacher Appreciation week. I would like to thank two teachers who inspired me to become a teacher. First, Mr. Nordyke, my Liberty Junior HS Band teacher, who went out of his way to convince me to stay in music after I quit. I had no idea in 5th grade I was good at anything until he changed my life.

Mr. Wurst was my 10th-grade US History teacher at Lakota HS. This guy did everything wrong, according to my college degree. He sat behind his desk, lectured the entire period, rarely showed visual aids, and ran his class like a military academy. But his impressions, notably Calvin Coolidge, and use of Woody Guthrie songs, along with a very difficult curriculum gave me the best US History education.

Tune of the Day. At Shake it Records last July I enjoyed talking to guitar player, employee, and cool-dude, Travis. He was about to go on tour with a local guy named Arlo McKinley. Arlo was one of the last artists signed by John Prine and his label, Oh Boy Records. Arlo’s newest album, “This Mess We’re In,” had just been released and I picked it up that day. It became one of my favorite albums of 2022. Here is my favorite tune from that album, Stealing Dark From The Night Sky .

AND NOW. . .

Imbiber Dave finds Elijah at a wedding, says hello.

Attended a rocking good time of a family wedding last weekend. I was at the old cousins table, and yes it was table 9, which for our age group was a definite badge of honor. If you don’t get the reference, stop reading and go watch The Wedding Singer right now. You’re welcome.

Family drama was at a minimum, children were forbidden, the open bar was serving Elijah Craig in Hulk fist cups, and table nine was able to catch up for the first time in way too long.

My date looked remarkable, and made me smile just like when I noticed the enormous donut table set for our post dinner enjoyment. Now wedding cake is fine in my opinion, but I’m a huge fan of some new fresh takes on the traditions, especially when you get upgraded to donuts.

In an ironically amazing you had to hear it to believe it moment, the highlight of the evening was the DJ. Now this was a play the hits and let the kids dance DJ, but he took his role very seriously, and proceeded to sing along with several of the tracks, a la The Wedding Singer. Pretty epic for us to witness, and no the happily married couple did not pay extra for this “service.”

Cheers!
cincybeerguydave@gmail.com