“I park for free
One stop shop life for the quick fix
Before you get a ticket
That’s the way I live my life
I park for free.”
Kurt Vile
Kurt Vile
Kurt Vile, 38, was born in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and like members of the War on Drugs, my favorite band, has spent most of his career in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia near where Toni grew up. In fact, along with Adam Granduciel, he was a founder of the War on Drugs but parted ways after the release of their first album, “Wagonwheel Blues” (2008). The two remained friends, however, and Granduciel continued to play with Vile’s backing band, the Violators, for another five years. “Loading Zones,” my current favorite song, is on the album “Bottle It In.” Vile explained: “The original inspiration to this song was me literally driving around my own town of Philadelphia, thinking about how, in your mind, or in real life, you own your town once you’ve lived there long enough.” After complaining how difficult it is to park legally in the “City of Brotherly Love,” he added: “[But] there’s all kinds of loading zones you can creep around in. And it’s also sort of just a way of life. It’s sort of like a ‘Sopranos,’ gettin by on the back streets–except no murder.” Vile’s previous hit, “Pretty Pimpin’,” begins:“I woke up this morning and didn’t recognize the man in the mirror.”
At my emeritus office in the new Arts and Sciences building I picked up a week’s accumulation of mail, something I do infrequently. There is no elevator in the south end of the two-block long building, where my room is, and the 30 steps to the second floor are tough on the knee. In addition, there is no parking anywhere near the north entrance except for a loading zone. I do occasionally park there on quick stops, popping the trunk of the Corolla as if I’ll be loading something into it when I return. Awaiting for me in my office were four pieces of mail: a permission slip from former trustee James Dye that allows access to our recent interview; two copies from John Cain of South Shore Arts of the “Gary Haunts” exhibit booklet that contains my historical essay; an announcement and thank you note from Scott Bocock of the Cedar Lake Historical Society (I evidently became a member automatically when I spoke to the group); and a package containing Steel Shavings, volume 47, that I had sent to Steven High at Concordia University in Montreal. The post office returned it because it didn’t contain a required customs form. WTF?
On Saturday I took James bowling and to Culver’s. His English class is reading “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, not a book I’d recommend for teenagers. At noon I attended Big Joe Petras’ Marquette Park Playground fundraiser at Miller Bakery Café, an event that has previously been held at Arman’s and Miller Pizza. Over the years Big Joe has raised thousands of dollars. I ran into many old Miller friends, including Jim and Steve Spicer, Jack Tonk, Dan Simon, Ron Cohen, Rich Gonzalez, and Dick Hagelberg, who treated me to a pint draft from Eighteenth Street Brewery, first located in Miller but now in Hammond. I was home in time for the IU victory over Butler, 71 to 68, in the Crossroads Classic on a last-second 30-foot miracle shot by freshman Rob Phinisee (below). The Hoosiers trailed until the final two minutes, but Juwan Morgan kept them in the game with 35 points, a career high.
Sunday I made French toast and bacon, watched the morning news shows, addressed about 70 Christmas cards, and watched my two favorite NFL teams the Chicago and the Philadelphia, win important games from Green Bay and the L.A. Rams respectively, the Bears to clinch the NFC Central and the Eagles to keep their playoff hopes alive. The only fly in the ointment: I got eliminated in the Fantasy semi-finals as Houston running back Lamar Miller was injured early in his game with the Jets, my starting QB Carson Wentz didn’t play, and backup Nick Foles hardly ever threw to my tight end Zach Ertz. Had I played either Dalvin Cook of Minnesota or Chris Carson of Seattle in place of Miller, I’d have won. As it was, I’d have beaten any of the other semi-finalists.
At the Archives two Ball State grad students, Carrie Vachon and Nick Miller, were working on a grant project to create a virtual museum on the history of civil rights in Indiana. They were very interested in my publications, especially the Gary pictorial history and my Tracesarticle on Reverend L.K. Jackson. I suggested several sources on Mexican Americans and referred them to these documentaries: an “Eyes on the Prize II” episode highlighting the 1972 National Civil Rights Convention at Gary West Side High School; “Hoosiers: The Story of Indiana,” based on Jim Madison’s book; John Hmurovich’s “History of Gary”; and an episode of the WFYI series “Across Indiana” on Mexican Repatriation.
left, Alex Karras; below, Dick the Bruiser
I ran into Mike Chirich, a Lew Wallace grad, and we talked about Gary sports history. He played junior varsity football and recalled legendary Coach Eddie Herbert. We traded stories about Alex Karras, whom I wrote about for a Traces article and whom I interviewed by telephone shortly before he died. Suffering from Alzheimer’s, he joked that I could call him the next day and we could have the same conversation since he wouldn’t remember the one we just had. Chirich knew about the Detroit sports bar that Karras had a financial interest in, where he evidently placed bets on games, causing the NFL commissioner in 1963 to suspend him from playing for a year. During that time he became a professional wrestler and supposedly got into a bar fight with Dick the Bruiser (William Afflis, a former Green Bay Packers lineman) shortly before their scheduled match.
Janet Jackson, Robert Smith of The Cure, Stevie Nicks
2019 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame include Gary’s own Janet Jackson as well as The Cure and Radiohead, all deserving. Others include Def Leppard, Roxy Music, Stevie Nicks, and the Zombies, a Sixties British band whose hits include “She’s Not There” and “Time of the Season.”
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