Seems like some of those old-timers really knew a thing or two. Here's a dinner-table of people recalling some of the good old-timers and their good old ways. Kerosene, anyone?

(I'm Still Here by John Hartford.)

Kathy & Fred go walking on Halloween night and realize there's nothing to be scared of. Even zombies are just ordinary folks trying to get by.

(Music from Zombie Dance by The Cramps.)

A kitchen table chat between childhood friends--Listen to realize how very very very lucky young people are when their adults regard them as real people and have real expectations of them.

My sister Nance and I got the chance to take a weekend trip together recently. During the middle of it, we were thrown back in time to another, far more fateful, trip we'd taken long ago. To this day, the mention of Rolla, Missouri sends an icy chill up our spines--for reasons you will see!

Another drum extravaganza caught live. Dude, this guy is awesome!! And the crowd is crazy!!

This is from the song Air Dry, No Heat, available only in our laundry room.

You can flop down on a sofa in a department store and wait it out, or you can go the the street and get out among 'em! Here's a clip from Chicago's Michigan Avenue.

The Going Process is a universal constant and is expressed like this: Whether you are going out for the afternoon to run errands...

or going away for one night...

or going on a week-long trip...

it's a process.

In which our lovable heroes un-wholesomely wish for a global military crisis, in order to restore a bit of quiet to their personal airspace.

Destined to be this summer's first blockbuster hit, it's the hair-rinsing, spine-chingling sequel to last year's Toilet Repair Trilogy! Introducing rising star Aaron McGurk as the young youth who learns the hard way that it's not all glamour at the handle end of a toilet plunger, and that snake handling is no business for nice guys....

In search of auditory adventure, we stalked the exotic fauna of Lakeland, FL and captured many specimens. From the sweet trill of songbirds to the uncouth eruptions of swans, with a dog, some tractors, and another very unusual species thrown in.

Talking to myself again.

This time it's about an interesting 'aha!' experience I had while reading Philosophy of Freedom. It has a lot to do with the belief--or fact, I think--that acts of genuine love and sympathy are worth far more than acts of compulsion or earnest political activism.

We're not too adept at dealing with ice 'round these parts. Thanks to all this skidding, spinning & spewing, our backyard now has a good start on that pond I always wanted, or at least a mud pit for wrestling in.

From a recent First Friday Open House--bridging the generations with an anime YouTube video of "Butterfly" and our friend Kyle accompanying on the banjo. Nothing strange about that, at least not around our house!

Hi Everyone (and Everyone Else),

We would sure like to hear your thoughts about our podcasts! It's nice to hear what people do and don't enjoy listening to.

Libsyn tries to keep records on the numbers of listeners per episode, but their "stats engine" is always giving them grief. So--if you'll click on the "Comments" spot next to a post from time to time and leave us your praise or scorn or anything in between, we'd appreciate the contact! It... read more

Here's a fellow at work who is middle-aged, personable, and to all appearances unexceptional--oh, except that he has a comprehensive new mythology of our world and maybe several others in his head. It gets put on paper, sentence by sentence, day by day, at break times. You never really know what's inside people, do you?

 

(Music from the Moody Blues)

Two tall tales tenderly told within the family, showing why it's probably just as well Fred isn't bringing up children of his own....

 

(With a slight "Oliver" twist.)

We have a simply marvelous, darling, hotel and museum downtown called the 21C. On my way to visit there for the first time, I ran into a friend who gave me a preview and some tips on what to look for. To quote her late husband, "Wow, man, what a trip."

A friend's dad passed away after an illness. About all you can do is to visit and listen. As usual at these times, the conversation swings from thoughtful to absurd, then back, in a heartbeat.

At the end Mike reads a poem for his dad.

Here are some tales of deer hunting in a northern state. The tellers will go unnamed, but you may be able to detect from their accents that they're not from Kentucky!

I'm not a hunter, but I find the matter-of-fact lore of stalking a deer, shooting, and dressing it for food (strange term, "dressing"!) to be admirable.

These are thoughts about the Lord's Prayer that came out as I sat alone at the breakfast table one day. I've edited out the longer pauses and stumbles.

The thing I enjoy and admire about Rudolf Steiner's writings is that he doesn't give you facts or doctrines to memorize, but simply points toward things you can look into for yourself. Usually they are hard, obscure, or even bizarre, but it is never about adopting his view. It... read more

You never know where that rascal Pan will show up. Here he appears at an otherwise civilized sculpture exhibit that my friend Jim and I visited. Glad to know he's still out there, keepin' it real.

A tale of a strange place I know all too well, the wheelchair supply house, whose name I'll leave unsaid. I had just come from there and met my crazy new chair, then recounted the story over dinner with our friends Scott and Janie.

Yeah, the place is a real mess, but I love it and feel loyal to it--and hope that comes through in the story. The folks there are like family in an odd... read more

Another encounter at the Frankfort folk festival. This game is known around Louisville because of our German heritage, and it's played at least once a year in the Germantown neighborhood. This was our first chance to experience the spectacle of it in person.

Once you look past the silliness and difficulty of it, it actually looks like fun. I kinda wanted to try it, but not in the street in public....

Just because this is our, oh I don't know, umpteenth recording on the subject of bathrooms--it doesn't mean we're obsessed with the topic or anything. Really! These things keep coming our way! Is it our fault that bathrooms make great material?

This encounter took place at a folk festival in Frankfort, KY. You'll hear a little of the family band Murphy's Echo at the end.

We heard this critter in the trees of New Harmony, Indiana. It's not a call we've heard here.

If you go to songsofinsects.com you'll learn that it's a Scissor-grinder cicada.

Eric really should start his own podcast--he's such a great source for funny material. Here are a couple of his tales from the Land of the Great Rodent, a k a Disney World.

My day took me near some woods with well-made trails, and I got out of the car to sit amid the trees for a while. Wish I'd had better microphones etc., but making a recording wasn't my goal; it just happened. It's hard to give a sense of how quiet it was and how full that quiet seemed.

I didn't see the bird whose call opens up the recording. A turkey maybe?

Talking with a friend about his wife's brother and his, er, unusual product.

This correspondence with eMachines/Gateway customer service gave me a chance to stretch out as a writer. Something about being an anonymous "consumer" (their term) gave me license to fly with whatever rhetorical skill and sarcasm I could muster!

By way of back story: I sent in the paperwork--complete and double-checked--to claim a $50 rebate on our new monitor, an in-store floor model. After a month I received notice that the claim was rejected because... read more

A story picked up at a conference on mobility and traveling skills of blind people, told by a wonderful instructor named Dona Sauerberger.

All I can say is, Yikes!!

While we're on the subject, here's another little tale about finding money. This one has a different outcome....

One great thing about money is that is shows you something about who people are. Here's a tale about my sister Nance and her son Peter doing the Right Thing.

In which Kathy realizes her spiritual union with Stephen Colbert through eating his ice cream; and Fred is relieved of a heavy debt even while taking on another.

Americone Dream, The Final Chapter ... or is it?

Our neighbor can now, at long last, bask in the reflected glow of our ever-burning fame, rather than a sunny cow-field. Actually, it may not turn out to be an improvement, but try telling that to all the celebrity seekers; they won't listen.

I'm happy to have found this place--more for the well-loved and homey feel than for the food--kind of hidden downtown. As you can tell from the conversation, it has its regulars (but then, it's the kind of place where you'd feel like a regular after about three visits).

Apparently the mac & cheese brings 'em in, and breaks their hearts when it's gone!

Another wistful reminiscence, this time with a side of eggs. Hurry and get dressed already.

What cads we've been! How cruel!! It's been weeks since we put up part 1 of this how-tutorial and, whaddya know, some people actually listened to it--but we never got around to posting the climactic conclusion. 'Til now.

By the way, even if you're not into the plumbing thing, the soundtrack is a killer!

Mentioning "climactic conclusion" reminds me of this:

Climax and Anticlimax sat on a fence. Climax blew up; who was left?  Aw, nevermind.

 

 

Cary, the barber, is rattled about his near-death encounter with a steak sandwich. His friends show great sympathy, as you can see!

I borrowed a hair cutting kit and took it to a family gathering. Dad was brave enough to volunteer for the operation! Here is the cast of characters:

Laurie, Stylist/Riveter

Dad, Innocent Victim

Kathy & Mom, Chorus of Doubt

Christopher, Boy Itching to Get in the Game

Fred, Instigator

Roger Tibbs, Yodeler (a sure sign of quality!)

Kathy loves Stephen Colbert and believes sampling the Ben & Jerry's ice cream named after him will somehow perfect her spiritual union with him. The search for this elusive ice cream takes us into strange (for us) territory--the suburban cinema multiplex where the youths of America roam in the open expanses.

Faithful listeners will note that this adventure goes the way all of our expeditions go! When will we ever learn? When will we e-e-e-e-e--ever learn?

We walked in a fundraiser for (or probably against) CP. Along the way, we fell in with a happy boy named Austin whose mother was pushing his chair. I found myself pestering him the same way my old elementary school principal used to pester me....

Fred comes from a line of larceny and skullduggery (well, plantduggery), as shown herein. With parents like these--leapin' lizards, that's why he's a punk!

Dinner music by Swing 39.

We are highly sophisticated and multi-dimensional creatures, we guys are. Here is a conversation after a basketball workout. (The nuts referred to, by the way, were supposed to be holding a wheelchair footrest together, but I guess that word can be multi-dimensional, too.)

Just about what you'd think from the title, with a few amusing moments. Joining lengths of PVC tube together with couplers, then hoping for no leaks when the water comes on!

We get way up in your grill (well, ours actually) with this audio spectacularama. Just listen to the sparks! Things got so dag-blag flashy I had to call my Dad to make sure we were doing things right.

Fred's old friend Eric has a great memory for funny incidents. Here at a visitation he fondly recalls two moments with his late father-in-law.

You gotta take your epiphanies when you find 'em. In this case, it was a restroom. Which is a good place to go to take epiphany time! Har har!

At the ballpark...guy in charge of summoning the elevator can't figure out how to speak to us...we get in...he turns back a crowd of other people wanting to ride too...points to the dog....

Five Fabulous Topics crammed into 11 minutes of conversation: A head cold, slutty drinks, the wondrous jicama, the Mystery Song, and non-fat French women. Fret not; there is no quiz and the cold only lasted one day!

The Intrepid Pair take on installing a new bathroom sink faucet. Thrill to the sounds of tools, water, marriage, and music! Better yet, get your own faucet kit and play along!

Reminiscing about a summer job with Patty, who always makes me laugh and who finally has a job she loves, working at the library. (Musical clips from "La Polka du Colonel" by Andri Popp.)

Kathy & her friend from childhood getting to, and into, the bus. Just the sounds of life, no big deal, but it adds up. (With a sentimental soundtrack from a group called "Danny Fong Extraordinaire.")

A melancholy short story (my first). It grew from the question, "Do our opinions have any value in the world?"

Losing a view and a neighbor in one swoop.

I suppose when you go shopping for squid-flavored snacks, you gotta take what comes. Note the dejection which follows when I state I'm not a church-goer.

An attempt to bring the cultures together, and yet somehow wrong. So very, very wrong. And probably not legal. Please forgive me! I meant well.

Forget Deal, Millionaire, and all those impostors. This is the World Cup of coffee and we're playing for all the beans.

Reminder of spring

and what it means

to a dog on a string

who loves peas and beans

Some say TR2 jumped the shark, failing to live up to the lofty expectations spawned by TR1. "Worst toilet repair podcast ever" was a typical remark, echoed by thousands. Still, comforted by the fact that even George Lucas made some clinkers, we press on with the stunning finale of the series. And if you're tuning in to toilet repair podcasts, you probably don't have cause to be too critical anyway....

An odd discovery on a street in Frankfort, KY. With a nod to Clay Pigeon of The Dusty Show on WFMU, whose shadow we are not worthy to stand in.

A walk on a leafy fall day, with some good sounds of the neighborhood. Perfect.

A sweet taste of a summer morning from Kathy, the early riser in the group. Builds slowly but hey, it's summer, what's the hurry?

Sequel to the smash hit Toilet Repair, part 1. This episode moves things along but, true to the cliffhanger tradition, leaves the repair unfinished. You'll be on the edge of your seat! Heh.