Thursday, July 16, 2009

time waits 4 no 1

My Uncle, who died earlier this week.

For everything you have missed,

you have gained something else,

and for everything you gain,

you lose something else.

Ralph Waldo Emerson


Muir Woods, back in the day.
I miss those desert boots, they
were mighty comfortable and lasted too,
as did a pair of Levis, unlike todays version.

I was taken by surprise this week to hear
my uncle had died. I last spoke to him after his wife
died not too long ago.

Once, although our extended family did have
their moments, some best forgotten, I remember
spending at least a good portion of my youth
with all my aunts, uncles and cousins almost
every weekend, or so it seemed.

Once we grew up and moved out, at least for me,
we lost contact, but still remember those
times we had and all the fun too.

This is the Cow Palace in Daly City, Ca.
Saw many boat shows, wrestling matches, or at least
one caught on 8MM tape for sure. Our band teacher also
took us here to see the Who, when Pete Townsend
was breaking his guitar. The Animals and the Association
all played together on the same night. But the Who
were wild crazy and a blast to see before they
were wildly famous.

Funny to look back and remember all
the crazy things we did as kids.

The last concert I saw here was Elton John when
he was doing the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour.

I also saw Paul McCartney on the Band On The Run
tour. I took only 4 pictures, never using a flash as
you can tell. The others are Paul by himself.

Memories.

Oh, today, this happened in our small town:
news

(Hey Merle, bet your town can't beat this one)

About 1:30 we were told our company was in
lock down for an hour or so. Except, the robbery happened
at 10:30 am. Was quite strange.
I truly understand this world less and less
as each day passes by.





23 comments:

Sharlene said...

To Uncle Maurie who truly was a Giant's fan til the end. I found out from Danny that it was one of the last things he said "go Giants" to Steve.
I love you Big Bro

ArtSparker said...

I am sorry about your uncle.

The Cow Palace concert must have been wonderful - what a cool band teacher.

I'm not sure if bolting the barn door after the quadruped has escaped is anything new.

Megan said...

Growing up, we always saw Ringling Bros at the Cow Palace. I'm trying to remember if I ever went to a concert there...

Sad to hear about your uncle. As it happens, we're going up to Santa Clara this weekend to see my uncle. He's a Giants fan, too.

Best wishes to you and your family, CM.

Anonymous said...

What a full post this is. Elton John?! Yellow Brick was a great lp. now that I think about it. And there's McCartney with his lefty Rick. I think I have some ZZ Top fotos of similar quality somewhere. I've never been to the Cow Palace though. My first ever concert was Zappa at Winterland. Needless to say it was an eye-opener!

Peace be to your uncle. Our link here is tenuous. I see it daily.

R.L.Bourges said...

Wild times in North Manchester, yes? (I'm referring to the bank heist. Fleeing on foot gives some idea of the heavy-duty delinquent involved in this crime.)

Great concert memories (and song).

Sorry to hear about your uncle, cm. From what I read on the first comment, he was happy with his life choices right to the end. That's pretty hard to beat.

best from Graulhet.

Coffee Messiah said...

shar: I remember always listening to Giants games, and going while still a young guy, and knew he loved the sport.

artS: A lot of us didn't really care for this particular band teacher, but on reflection, he was ahead of his time. And I probably didn't like him 'cause I really didn't want to be in band myself
; ( I have one other story I will have to relate sometime.

megan: It was the place to see everything back then. Didn't look like much but was huge inside.

hR9: Although we frequented the Family Dog on the Great Highway, Fillmore and Winterland, we also ventured into Keystone Korner (jazz) Great American Music Hall, Rusty Scupper (folk friends played there a lot) well, the list could go on. Never saw Zappa, but wish I had when We're Only In It For The Money came out. I still have some stuff to send your way, and know you understand death and dying in so many ways. And yes, we're a blip in the universe.Thanks for popping in.

rlb: Oh no, adults out here do that too ; ( BTW, the Police Dept is maybe 8 blocks from the bank in question. But to tell people to stay inside 2 1/2 hrs after the fact, oy vey.

JGH said...

I wish I had a teacher like that! Mine played the ukelele and sang folk songs - fun, but not quite the same.

So sorry to hear about the loss of your uncle.

Sharlene said...

PS- and thank you so much for taking me to see Paul McCartney and Wings for my 16th BD- I still talk about that to this date. CSN & Y at the Paramount was pretty incredible too-
Love you!

Tess Kincaid said...

Your uncle had such a great face. I'm sorry for your loss.

(I had a pair of those chukka boots back in the 70's. Oh, how I loved them.)

Candie said...

I'm sorry to hear that your uncle passed away.All my sympathy for you and the family.

Coffee Messiah said...

jgh: Hey, ukelele isn't bad.

shar: Hey, I need to send you those photos and forgot you were just a little kid going to that concert. Oh, the Paramount was a Bonnie Raitt concert! ; )

willow: I've seen you can purchase something similar from the UK for about $89.00 a pair. A far cry from the $15.00 from way back then.

candi and all: Thanks for your kind comments ; )

P11 said...

I.m sorry CM

Coffee Messiah said...

Thanks, cafeP!

ratatouille's archives said...

Hi! C.M.,
My condolesence to you, and your family.

DeeDee

Anonymous said...

C.M. many, many condolences. I lost two uncles and a grandfather, while I was in the Navy and Army...

On a lighter note( heh ), you had one cool music teacher!

Merle Sneed said...

I'm sorry about you uncle, my friend.

With respect to the lockdown, they probably didn't want to worry you any (or disrupt productivity!)

Coffee Messiah said...

dd: Thank You.

subT: Life is like that, isn't it.

merle: Funny thing was, one of our co-workers heard about the robbery on her walk at lunch around 11:30. I'm just saying, to be worried about it3 1/2 hrs later, is just nuts ; (

lettuce said...

sorry for you and your family's loss

Coffee Messiah said...

lettuce: Thank You!

California Girl said...

Hello CM: Sorry it's taken me a few days to get by and read this. You left such a nice note for me and mentioned it then.

Your uncle looks like a character! Love the SF hat. My sympathy to you and your family. Did he have a good life?

I appreciate your nostalgia about the Cow Palace concerts. Went to the same ones in LA. I saw The Who around 1967 at the old Hulabaloo when they were first getting popular. Keith Moon. One of my musician friends was a band boy for them that night. I saw The Association at the Ice Palace in Pasadena and loved them. The drummer was so cute. Ted. I think that was his name.

I don't know if I ever saw The Animals. I loved the Youngbloods and Jesse Colin Young. He was from Marin, right?

Good stuff. Love, loss, memories. That's all we have.

robin andrea said...

You make me re-think some of my long-held beliefs about California families. Having grown up on the east coast, I always found Californians to be much less family-oriented, particularly around extended families. So many of the folks I've met here have never hung out with their aunts and uncles. I always like having my assumptions challenged. Thank you for that. This is such a fine tribute to your uncle. Very loving and thoughtful.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

hugs

it is so sad to see one's extended family shrink.... as you know we just had our family reunion, the size of the older generation is a fraction what it was a mere 4 years ago.

and more and more as time passes the younger generations are getting more far flung -- the effect on the annual reunion is striking. this year we had about 35 - 5 years ago we had over 80!

there's something funny about seeing 'the animals' at the cow palace!!

Coffee Messiah said...

cg: Yes, I think we packed more into our young selves than I ever realized.

robin: Sadly, as you mentioned, we all have gone our ways through the years and sadly, as you know we are here and our families are there.

kimy: But they were at the cow palace ; )
Seems that through the late 60s we were real close, then, we all drifted apart.