Project 3867: The Garage

 Huh, this idea is already a popular one in South Bend

The football and marching band season for Comstock Park HS is wrapping up. Will hangs out in the basement, and teenagers routinely troop through the house to join him down there. I like knowing where he is, but I wish there were more places for kids to go, hang out, and socialize. 

Here's a liability nightmare of an idea: why not a "bar" for kids? 

What were my tween/teen hangouts? Arcades with Pac-Man, pinball, a snack bar, and the bare minimum. ShowBiz Pizza for Friday night dances, which were immediately lame after the age of 15. AllSkate with a hardwood skating rink and concessions. There was one dance place up the hill from AllSkate, but I wasn't allowed to go there since the kids from other high schools hung out drinking cheap booze and getting into fights. Cruising the Ave, which was basically driving along Michigan Avenue and stopping at various parking lots to hang out with friends until the cops chased us away. 

So far as I can tell, CP has none of that; it's mostly kids hanging out at each other's houses, going to the movies, or (Pia) sneaking off to the GVSU apartments for off-campus parties. Even Oscar, Felix, and Diego would go to school events, come hang out here, and then run to McDonald's, where they were for only a short time. 

That's cool.

So create a destination for kids to hang out and chill. I have no idea what is cool, but provide charging stations for their phones, TVs connected to PlayStations and X-boxes, conversation areas, and a non-alcoholic bar to get smoothies, coffees, and stuff like that. In the garage, a small stage for high school bands to have a place to play, with the opportunity to throw those bay doors open for a larger crowd. 

Do kids even put rock bands together anymore?

Oh man, I hope this doesn't sound like lame mom ideas.

The Cereal Project: Light Up Pen/Stylus

Thinking I'm clever, but you can get these in bulk at 4imprint

School supplies, like rulers, erasers, pens, and pencils, were proven winners as premiums back in the day. One of my favorite cereal box prizes from the 70s was the Sugar Crisp eerily colored glow-in-the-dark pen.

It was an eerie light green that seemed to glow even in full daylight

Gord is a songwriter for whom, given her penchant for writing in secret, a light-up pen is appropriate. And in a nod to modern times, have the tip be a smart stencil/stylus to use on touch tablets.

Why Art Matters: Stevie Wonder, Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants

A blind man making us see

We saw Stevie Wonder in concert last year, a miracle in finding tickets the day of, about eight rows back. He was astonishing in every conceivable way. Doing what I do - obsessing - I read every article I could about him afterwards and was clued into the fact that this album, the soundtrack to the documentary Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants, was considered a huge disappointment by Motown. 

I have to take this criticism in context. It was 1979, and the charts were dominated by disco, hard rock, new wave, punk, and country. Stevie was coming off a decade of dominating the charts and awards shows with R&B funk classics like Superstition and Sir Duke, and albums like Songs in the Key of Life. This album was expected to be another massive hit.

This is none of that. 

This is Wonder as a composer and artist. 

And it's gorgeous. 

Yes, there are hits on this album, Send One Your Love and Black Orchid. But there's also the hypnotic Voyage to India, Come Back as a Flower, Seasons, and the Finale. Honestly, this is one where you drop the needle on track one and listen to the whole thing as a soundscape from start to finish. 

Reading more about the album, the packaging is a stroke of genius. The cover is embossed so you can feel the orchid illustration as well as read the cover in braille. It is scented, igniting another of the senses. I'm now in search of the record, hoping the CD offers the same sensation. 

Reading reviews online, it is clear the fans do not feel the same as the critics, Berry Gordy be damned. Please give it a listen, even if you aren't a Stevie Wonder fan. 

Lipstick on the Mic: The Three Degrees

Funky Divas in the 70s

I once mouthed off that I preferred The Three Degrees over The Supremes. The fact Diana Ross and company were ultimately more successful doesn’t change my opinion. Why?

Fact one: When Will I See You Again

Fact two: Maybe

Fact three: their completely random appearance on the TV show Sanford and Son

Fact four: the theme song to Soul Train, "TSOP (Sound of Philadelphia)"

Fact five: the king of England, Charles III, is their most famous fan

Quick bio: the Philadephia-based group formed in high school in 1963 “because it was fun.” The height of their fame was in the 70s, although they have had random chart appearances throughout the years, most recently in 1998 with their cover of Last Christmas. Sixteen women can claim to be a former member of T3D, and there’s a 2006 documentary of the band. 

Typing Out Loud: Hello, is this thing on?

Back when my hair was brown in my first Facebook profile picture, 2007. 

That was three pairs of skates ago. 

I've been writing this thing since 2008, and I like having a history to go back on to see my evolution as a skater, wife, mom, professional, and writer. But traveling to a skating competition this weekend, a friend commented, "Blog - what is this, 2006?"

Damn girl, way to make me feel old. 

But I'm going to continue to create this personal diary of sorts, even if no one else is reading. I used this to create during the pandemic, working on my Leadership degree, sort my feelings as I returned to high school with Will to see things from a parent perspective, and contemplate all things Beatle 55 years after the band broke up. 

Besides, the dirty little secret to anyone reading that doesn't know, there are features of this site where you can set yourself up to publish entries written far off into the future. Why? It's like writing chapters of a book for me. As for right now, I do have entries scheduled for release well into 2029, the year of my 60th birthday - I'm sure I will have feelings about that!

So I will continue to kick it old school and watch my literary journey unfold.  

October 2025: The Fifth Monkee, Charlie Smalls

"I met a girl, her name was love..."

At the end of season two of the show, the band and producers started a transition in the format toward variety, introducing their audience to new and interesting musicians. This was to steer the show away from being a sitcom for season three; instead, the show was canceled.  

As a musical theatre song-and-dance guy, Davy hit the jackpot with Charlie Smalls and, in their bit, discussed songwriting, rhythm, and soul. 

From Wikipedia: 

A musical prodigy, Smalls attended the Juilliard School at age 11 in 1954, staying until 1961. He wrote the song "From Me to You" for Hugh Masekela's 1966 album Hugh Masekela's Next Album and a song for John Cassavetes's 1968 film Faces called "Never Felt Like This Before."

After graduating from the High School of Performing Arts, Smalls toured as a member of the New York Jazz Repertory Company before beginning work on The Wiz. An African-American urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz was adapted into a feature film in 1978. Smalls also wrote the score for the 1976 film Drum.

Smalls was a Tony, Grammy, and Drama Desk winner for The Wiz. At the time of his death, he was working on a new musical, Miracles. He died of a burst appendix in 1987.