Christmas 2011

Well, once again we hit the bowling alley on Christmas Day... and once again I was shocked that I can average 200 with no practice bowling once a year. Rob came in second with a respectable 175/180 average and Kellie did well with all 3 games in the triple digits..... MJ, well she did get up to 102 the last game.

New Years 2011

What am I going to do.. Our usual group decided to end their string of New Years Eve parties in Rockford. MJ has booked a flight out west for the holidays, leaving Kellie and I home on New Years Eve with nothing to do. I guess we'll go out on the deck at midnight and bang pans...Oh wait, Kellie goes to bed around 9:00. Is Dick Clark still alive ?

Vegas Baby !!!!!!!

Here is a photo from my seat at the airport terminal. My friend Mike decided to renew his wedding vows in Vegas for his 25th anniversary. Being his best man twice he invited me and his forty closest friends to help him celebrate this occasion. The wedding renewal took place at the Little White Wedding Chapel with a Elvis impersonator giving away the bride and throwing in a few songs as well. Dinner at the suite in the Bellagio was excellent. I also won 400.00 at the blackjack tables, pretty much paying for the trip.. Not too Shabby..

Kedzie

The boys in Chicago now have a dog. Her name is Kedzie, she's a burnese mountain dog, or something like that. Rob brought her to spend the weekend with us. She's really got a lot of energy and really wore us out she loves attention.

1962 Corvette

Here is a shot of the neighbors vintage corvette. As usual he has backed it in. In fact all his cars and truck are always backed in I'm not sure why he does this.... Maybe he can get out faster in case of an emergency. I'm just not sure. Someday i'll have to ask him.

Art Prize 2011

We got down to ArtPrize twice this year. The art didn't seem as good as the past but the size of the crowds doubled. Hence, two visits. My favorite thing about Art Prize is stoppnig to eat or should I say drink, We were able to hit The Hopcat and The Cottage Bar this year. The Hopcat is rated one of the best beer bars in the country and the Cottage Bar is always picked as the best burger joint in GR. They both lived up to their billing.

Amy's Wedding

Sorry about the long time between posts. I'd like to say it's been a busy summer, which it has, but its more that. I've just become lazy in my old age. Anyway, it was nice to get the whole Cronin family together again as you can see in the picture. My sisters daughter got married in Germantown, Wisconsin ( just north of Milwaukee). The wedding was beautiful from what I could tell, as I got out of my seat to use the restroom just before the ceremony, and got locked out of the wedding. Luckily there were HD tv's in the lobby so myself and another late arriving guest were able to watch.

Internet Explorer 9

This is just a reminder to myself. Since updating to Internet Explorer 9 I can not post on blogger. Remember to use Firefox or Safari in the future

Home Alone

MJ and Kellie are heading to Seattle for a graduation this week and with Rob Living in Chicago, it looks like I will be Home Alone from Wednesday thru Sunday. This is the longest I have been on my own since 1977. But, not to worry I have taken vacation this week as well and have numerous annual projects to complete. In fact,I may need to take a vacation to recover from this vacation.

Yesterdog

The old neighbors are headin this way for the weekend and Friday night we will be dining at the nationaly renowned Yesterdog. You know from the movie "American Pie". I have lived here for over 16 years and this will be my first visit. Maybe I don't like hot dogs.

Grand Funk Railroad - Inside Looking Out 1969

I saw this on my Facebook Page and thought I'd post it here. I can't believe this group actually came from what was left of Terry Knight & the Pack. You remember "I who have nothing " which I think was The Pack's biggest hit. What a complete change........... Oh By the way the Bass player actually came from "? and the Mysterions" 96 tears unbelievable. Who'd of thunk it.......

My First Apartment ...Palmetto Drive

  I was looking thru the archives tonight and saw this photo of my first Apartment. I lived in the basement apartment. This photo is actually of the back entrance, you can see my living room and bedroom windows in the picture. I had many great times during the year I lived here. I believe I moved in in May of 1972 and moved out a year later.I paid $150.00 a month rent and I think the building was almost brand new in 1972. I wish I could tell you all the stories that happened at this apartment but like the saying goes "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". Well, "What happened at Palmetto stays at Palmetto".....I'm sure all my friends from those days would agree

The Beast

Rob traded in his Jeep and went to the next level a Hummer H3. It should make the winter drives a little safer with it's four wheel drive. Looking forward to my first drive in it.

one bourbon one scotch one beer

One of my favorite Thorogood songs always a hit at the annual Christmas Party I love the second part at about 3:43 when the bass kicks in...........

My First Big Concert

Thanks to the magic of the internet, I found this flyer on the back of what was a WTAC music survey. I always remembered seeing Chuck Berry at the Saginaw Civic Center and another group that was amazingly loud, but I couldn't remember when this was. Well, thanks to this survey the exact date was Wednesday January 16,1972. For $3.00 I saw Chuck Berry the MC 5, Teegarden & Van Winkle, plus Mitch Ryder and Detroit. I had completely forgotten about Mitch Ryder til I saw this info. If my memory serves me correctly that is who I actually went to see.........And all for $3.00 can you believe it.........

Tuffy

Who says, I'm not a dog lover. Here is a photo of my dog Tuffy taken in the Fall of 1963 In the background is Plettenburgs house. Yes he was a handsome dog.... Thank You

Masonic Temple

Here is an old photo from 1967 of an imposing looking structure in downtown Saginaw. The Old Masonic Temple, but whats more interesting to me, is the sign at the left side of the picture. Actually this is where I bought my first car ( Blunt Motors ) a 1963 Corvair for 150.00. If you could see the front of the sign it said "Don't Hunt See Blunt". Sadly Blunt Motors is no longer in business and the Masonic Temple no longer exists
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Honda 305 Scrambler

Keeping with the retro theme, here is the bike that ignited the bike craze in the sixties, although one might argue it was actually the Honda 90.But I didn't have a picture of that version.

Daniels Den... Just one more !!!!

Here is a photo of a group called the Paupers who also played at the Den. In Fact,I believe they attended Arthur Hill. Possibly the same time I was at St Andrews. I thought they were a very good group They had a great stage presence and I thought they would go places.....

Daniels Den #3

I saw a lot of great local groups at the Den. One of my favorites, pictured here is "The Excels" who I believe were from Alpena. Another Group I enjoyed back then was the Playboys who later became "The Bossmen"

Daniels Den #2

Speaking of the Den, who can forget paying a quarter at the door then immeadiatly handing your ticket to Officer Ed, who instantly checked you over getting as close as possible so he could casually check your breath. Check out the five rules posted on the wall.

Daniels Den

After an incredibly boring vacation during the holidays, In which I spent an inordinate amount of time surfing the web. I found some old photos from the past. Perhaps these photos will bring back some good memories to you old timers. The first photo is of the Den. Many nights I remember seeing crowds lined up like this in front of the Den, usualy we were cruising or racing by in Kremers 57 Chevy. We normally did this a few times before parking and going in.

My Top Albums

Back sometime ago, I promised to post my top 10 albums. After studying this for quite a long time I had narrowed it down to about 75 albums. But just recently I ordered a new app for my Iphone which allowed me to access which albums I listened to the most. The results were interesting if not slightly suprising. Here are the results......













1 Everything Playing, The Lovin Spoonful 77 hrs
2 Four Sticks, Led Zeppelin 65 hrs
3 Pet Sounds, Beachboys 58 hrs
4 Ram, Paul McCartney 49 hrs
5 Let It Be, The Beatles 47 hrs
6 Layla, Derek & the Dominos 46 Hrs
7 Houses Of The Holy, Led Zeppelin 45 hrs
8 Harvest, Neil Young 41 hrs
9 Teaser & the Firecat, Cat Stevens 40 hrs
10 Led Zeppelin I, Led Zeppelin 39 hrs