Bad to the Bone

On the day I was born
The nurses all gathered 'round
And they gazed in wide wonder
At the joy they had found
The head nurse spoke up
And she said "leave this one alone"
She could tell right away
That I was bad to the bone

On Thursday I received this sad news from high school classmate Pam Tucker: “I just read about Johnny Maestro, what a bummer. I just saw him a couple of months ago at Bowzer's Rock & Roll Party. He was terrific, he always had such a great voice (Sixteen Candles was my favorite song in high school). I replied: “I hadn’t heard about Johnny Maestro until you told me the sad news. I, too, loved “Sixteen Candles.” What a great song to slow-dance to and sing along with. It takes me back to the Upper Dublin sock hops.” Seventy year-old doo wop great Maestro recorded his great hit with the Crests before forming the band Brooklyn Bridge. What I wouldn’t give for another slow dance with my first serious girlfriend. I tried to get niece Lisa to go with me to see George Thorogood, one of her favorites rockers, but she was in Florida for her parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary.

Friday I got 90 year-old Bill Neil to attend an IU Northwest Faculty Organization meeting as part of my ongoing heritage initiative. A bigwig from Bloomington, John Applegate, took up most of the two hours explaining the creation of a new regional campus bureaucracy that many faculty had questions about. I had told Chairman Chuck Gallmeier that we’d only take up five minutes so he moved us up on the agenda fortunately. I mentioned that 70 years ago Bill had received a degree from IUN’s predecessor, Gary College, that 60 years ago he started teaching at the downtown Gary Center, that 55 years ago he drew up the Faculty Org’s first constitution and then became its first chair, and that 50 years ago he was acting chancellor in charge of the campus. I drew laughs when I said that on a lesser note 40 years ago this month as Dean of Faculty he hired me. Ten years ago he attended a Faculty Org meeting to deliver a eulogy honoring President Herman Wells; he stayed for the entire meeting and later repeated the old French proverb, the more things change, the more they remain the same.”

After my intro Bill strode to the lectern like it was an old companion and said that after my remarks he felt like a museum piece. Then he said that it was the great German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck who noted that for most actions there are stated reasons and real reasons. He noted that the stated reason he was there was on my invitation but the real reason was that he missed the collegiality he so much cherished from his tears at IUN. He was great. Afterwards Education professor Vernon Smith told him he was a former student and that Bill had had a huge impact on him. Bill remembered Vernon, who has gone on to become a school principal and state representative. What Bill said about enjoying colleague’s company reminded me of a WW II vet interviewed years later who recalled how at war’s end there was one final parade and afterwards the soldiers were so elated never to have to do that again. An old soldier told them there’d come a time when they’d miss the camaraderie and look back on this day with nostalgia. Indeed Bill, a WW II bombardier, has attended reunions and kept in touch with old comrades.

I had hoped to see “Runaways” or “Greenberg” at the movies, but they haven’t come to NW Indiana yet so settled for “Hot Tub,” which starred John Cusack and got a review of three stars in the paper. It was gross but funny with lots of 80s music and fashions. Geek-looking actor Clark Duke hangs with these older guys, one of whom tries to get him into a three-way. In another scene it appears that one guy, after losing a bet, will have to give a buddy a bj. The second guy passed out and wakes up to see what appears to be semen all over his buddy’s face. The buddy says something like, “Boy, were eating pineapple today” before admitting it was just soap. Afterwords I picked up CDs at Best Buy of MGMT and George Thorogood. The latter was titled “The Dirty Dozen” and had both classics and new recordings of hard rocking blues. The song “Hey Little Girl,” a tribute to Chuck Berry, opened with a guitar riff from “Johnny B. Goode” and included bits from “Roll Over Beethoven.”

Saturday I watched Butler University defeat Kansas State to reach the NCAA Final Four before catching George Thorogood at the Star Plaza in Merrillville. He was tremendous doing all his big hits, including “Bad to the Bone,” “Move It On Over,” and “Who Do You Love.” Young women were dancing suggestively in the aisles, and the place was packed (so was the men’s bathroom, causing someone to start cracking prostate jokes). Sunday I had a good gaming day, winning three of six, and then had a great salmon dinner at Hagelbergs before playing 24 hands of bridge.