"There Are No Faint Hearts In Fort Worth" - JFK 11.22.63

Growing up in Fort Worth, Texas (just a stone's throw from Dallas, for you non-Texans) I always felt so removed from the rest of the world. Nothing ever really seemed to happen there. We always felt just like a small town that lived in the shadow of our big brother, Dallas. Somewhere in my middle school years I became fascinated with the Kennedy assassination. I guess I was intrigued by the fact that such a historical event took place right here in my backyard. You can imagine my amazement when I learned how much Ft. Worth played a role in those final days of our 35th President's life. Today many will bow their heads in a moment of reflection as we acknowledge the 48th anniversary of that horrible day. But I, instead, would like to remember happier moments; the morning of November 22. I have always been fascinated by the fact that JFK spent his last night alive in Fort Worth. Arriving just a little after 11 PM on 11/21 at Carswell AFB the President and Mrs. Kennedy retired to their quarters at the Hotel Texas in downtown Fort Worth. I worked downtown for a while at Del Frisco's Double Eagle which sits across the street from this hotel which is now a Hilton. Many nights as I walked to my car I would pass right in front of this hotel and pause and imagine the scene below. It was always cool yet eerie to look around and know that such a terrible day in our nation's history, began right on that very spot. The building that would become Del Frisco's can be seen in the picture below between the two flags on the right hand side.

The hotel looks almost just as it did in 1963 and the parking lot where the President addressed the crowd of approximately 2,000 is now known as Worth Square and a statue/memorial to commemorate this event is in the works. Below you can see President Kennedy working the crowd which the Secret Service hated. The building at the left of the picture is where the Fort Worth Convention Center now stands. It is on this spot that President Kennedy gave his second to last speech a little after 8 AM in a light rain, telling the crowd "...I appreciate you being here this morning. Mrs. Kennedy is organizing herself. It takes longer, but, of course, she looks better than we do when she does it." He went on to talk about the nation's need for being "second to none" in defense and in space, for continued growth in the economy and "the willingness of citizens of the United States to assume the burdens of leadership."

The President then moved inside to a breakfast in his honor given by the Chamber of Commerce where he gave his final speech of his life. He focused on military preparedness, saying "We are still the keystone in the arch of freedom. We will continue to do...our duty, and the people of Texas will be in the lead."

On that note the President and First Lady departed Fort Worth. Above is a shot of the Presidential motorcade moving north on Main Street just in front of the iconic Tarrant County Courthouse. The President departed Carswell AFB for the short 13 minute flight to Dallas and the rest is history. We all know what took place later that day but as many will always will remember what happened that afternoon in Dealy Plaza, I will always remember that happy morning in my hometown...where it always seemed that nothing ever happened.

Welcome To Paradise - Green Day at Red 7 - 11.17.11 - Austin, TX

Have you ever had one of those days were you thought it was just going to be another normal day but somehow the planets aligned and the day turned out to be one of the most incredible experiences you'd ever had? Well that is what happened to me last Thursday here in the Live Music Capitol of the World. I woke up that morning (11:48 AM was morning for me) still a bit hazy from the night before and grabbed my phone to see what was good in the world. I hit up my social media outlets to see if there was any good news and low and behold there was a tweet from a friend of mine saying that Green Day was to play a secret show that night at a downtown Austin club. Tix on sale at noon and for $20. Oh snap! This was quite intriguing!Now I have never professed to be a die-hard Green Day fan but I have followed their career since they broke through with Dookie in 1994. I was even a big fan of 2004's American Idiot, even if most weren't. So being the concert-junkie I am I figured that this had the opportunity to be a really kick-ass show so I rubbed my eyes clear and headed to the computer. I refreshed the page right at noon and tried to secure a ticket. Nothing. I tried again and still nothing. I tried once more and BOOM there was ticket in my cart. CHECKOUT! CHECKOUT! GO THROUGH! Aaaaah....done. Crazy, I had a ticket. I tried again just for shits and giggles to get another ticket. SOLD OUT. It was 12:03 PM.

400 tickets to this club show were gone. I would read later they actually were all gone in 15 seconds. Is that even possible? Well I had mine and was pretty stoked about this. Green Day in a 400 capacity club? Wow, this is gonna rock! And it did. After a a couple of sets from the openers (which the band took in from the same spot I did, in the crowd) it was time for GD to hit the stage around 11 PM. Billie Joe let us know they were gonna do "some new stuff, some old stuff, some really old stuff, and some really, really old stuff..." and immediately launched into Welcome to Paradise. This sent the crowd into a frenzy and indeed, we were all in paradise.

Billie Joe Armstrong signing an autograph for a fan after the show.

They played a 2 and 1/2 hour long set that featured almost an album's worth of new material, lots of old tunes especially Dookie hits and a few covers (a Misfits cover was particularly funny in light of Glenn Danzig's diva act at Fun Fun Fun Fest). The night was quite crazy; I guess like a punk show should be. Fans on stage and stage diving, Billie Joe slamming Lone Star tallboys (he even shared with us how his wedding was BYOB), and a celebrity sighting (Andy Roddick, Brooklyn Decker, and Serena Williams....odd I know). There was also a nice moment where the band played a tribute song to Amy Winehouse while a fan held the hand-written lyrics up for Billie Joe. The band wrapped up the show around 1:30 AM although I am sure they could have played well into the early morning hours. I even scored a drumstick from Tre Cool after the show. Not a bad night I must say especially since I woke up that morning thinking the highlight might be taking a nap. Ha! You gotta love those unexpected days that turn into kick-ass memories! Thanks Green Day!!

Penn State and Coach Paterno - My Memories and Thoughts

I can't help but observe the scandal that is unfolding in "Happy Valley" and feel sorrow. I have no ties to Penn State outside of the one opportunity I had to visit there almost three years to the day. I took away fond memories of a classy establishment that was steeped in pride not only for it's educational facility but it's football program, as well as it's community. I feel sorrow for the victims, their families, the program, the iconic leader, and the entire borough that is State College. I honestly don't know who is to blame for all of this. Obviously the offender, if guilty, should be locked up for a long, long time. I understand the president being removed - he is the head man on that campus and if something like this happens on his watch and he had knowledge, then bye-bye. Then comes Paterno. Part of me says, 'yes' he too should be gone, no questions asked. But there is also a part of me who spent time after my visit learning a lot about this man. An Italian-American from 1920's Brooklyn, NY, Paterno only really knew one thing his whole life, football.

From what I have learned and what little I know about 'old-school' sports guys, I can just envision what took place when these accusations were brought to his attention. I see him turning to his superiors, as he did, and saying "Take care of this". I'm not suggesting he ordered some sort of a cover-up or turned a blind eye to the matter. He probably thought "This is not something I am supposed to deal with. Let the higher-ups handle it". He has stated when it was first brought to his attention, the GA was 'vague' about what he saw. When his superiors never came back with anything on the matter, he assumed either the claims were baseless or where handled as needed. He's a football coach and that's what he continued to do.

Now as we all look back on his actions and how he handled it, we discover 'yes' he could have done more. He has even admitted it. But it seems as if his dismissal signifies some sort of a heinous crime itself. Maybe it was. Many journalists have said it in their columns from coast to coast, yet none of us have really heard many of the facts. As bad as I feel for the victims - and I do - I also feel bad for the 84 year-old Paterno. I just don't believe that he let his 'ego' get in the way of doing what was right. Not this man. But many of you are suggesting this. Well, you are entitled to your opinion. I just don't agree with it.