Mike Campbell - From The Heartbreakers to The Dirty Knobs

Last week I finished Mike Campbell's aptly titled autobiography, The Heartbreakers.  He was not only the band's lead guitarist, but also Tom Petty's best friend.  Doug had read it last year and was sure that I would like it. I am happy to say that he was 100% correct.  I enjoyed learning about Mike Campbell as well as the history of The Heartbreakers.  I loved that the book spent quite a few chapters on his life in Gainesville, a city that Doug and I now knew well.  Mike Campbell's detailed memories of his days at the University of Florida to the last concert he played with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in 2017 were all amazing to read about.  He had hundreds of stories about other musicians that he had played with or met throughout his career including Boby Dylan, George Harrison and Don Henley.  He also wrote extensively about the songs, the music and the recording sessions with the Heartbreakers.  The best part for me was his stories about his life with Tom Petty.  They were absolutely fantastic and I learned more about my favorite singer in this book than I ever could have imagined.  I don't remember ever reading a biography faster than I did The Heartbreakers as I just couldn't put it down.

The last few chapters of Mike Campbell's book focused on his life after Tom Petty's death and the break- up of the Heartbreakers.  He played with Fleetwood Mac for several years and eventually formed his own band called "The Dirty Knobs" with a few of his long-time musical friends including Steve Ferrone, drummer of The Heartbreakers.  Last week, I was looking at concerts on Seat Geek when I decided to check to see if The Dirty Knobs were touring.  I couldn't believe what I found.  Not only were they touring, but they were playing in Nashville, Indiana tonight. I decided that I had to go and was thrilled that as soon as I asked Brett if he wanted to go with me he instantly said, "Yes!" 

Tonight's concert was so much fun.  I had been listening to The Dirty Kobs playlist on Spotify all week to get ready for it and knew almost all of the songs that they played.  I loved the five Tom Petty songs that Mike Campbell covered including one of my favorites, "You Wreck Me" which was also featured in the book.  The music wasn't Brett's taste, but he did really enjoy the opening act, Sarah Lee Guthrie.  She sang folk songs that she had wrote and covered several of her grandfather, Woody Guthrie's songs as well.  She also told stories about growing up with her father Arlo and playing music with him as well.  She was very entertaining which made for a wonderful night for both Brett and I.

Getting the Gang All Back Together

Last month, Cherie emailed the group of teachers from Milford Middle School that had all hung out together when I was teaching to see if we wanted to have a weekend get-together at her home sometime this summer.  She threw out this past weekend as a date that she had open.  After several people answered that they couldn't do a weekend, but a dinner out would work, I decided to respond.  I gave everyone the dates that I would be in Northern Indiana this summer and said that if any of those worked, I would be able to make dinner. Right away everyone answered that last night was the perfect evening to meet and I put it on my calendar.

I hadn't gone out to dinner with this group in well over a year and hadn't seen some of the women for several more.  None of that seemed to matter because as soon as we met, it was like the past eight years since I quit teaching melted away.  We caught up on each other's families, work situation, and life since Milford Middle School was disbanded three years ago.  There had been a lot of changes, but the most important part stayed the same - our friendship.  Overall, it was a wonderful night filled with shared memories, a lot of laughs and the familiar support that I always felt with this group.  I couldn't ask anything more.  

Another Trip to the Hospital

Last week, my dad called in the early evening. I was worried as it was rare that I heard from him at dinner time but thought that maybe he had something he wanted to share with Doug and I. He definitely had something to share, but unfortunately, it wasn’t good news. My mom had fallen out of the back door of the garage again and broke her left hip. He was on the way to the hospital when he called and was very worried to say the least.

My mom ended up with the exact same break and the exact same surgery that she had in December, but this time it was on her left hip. She spent two days in the hospital before they sent her to the Waters nursing home near my dad‘s house. I was really bummed to hear it as I was coming up to see them this week, and my mom and I had plans to get haircuts and go to The Depot.  More importantly, I was worried about how my mom would recover this time.

I arrived in Syracuse last night early enough to go over to the nursing home and visit with my mom. She looked very sad and in a lot of pain. I tried to be positive but wasn’t sure what today would bring. Thankfully, she was doing a lot better today. The nurses were able to get her dressed and sitting in a chair to eat breakfast. While I was there, I also got to go to physical therapy with her.  Although her hip hurt, she was able to move her left leg and do some of the exercises. I know that it will take several months for my mom to recover, but I was glad to see that she was already making a little bit of progress.

A Great Weekend in Ohio

Doug and I were up early this morning so that he could catch his flight in Cleveland. The drive was extremely easy as the airport was right off of the tollway.  Since it was smaller than Indianapolis, Doug had no problem getting through security and to his gate in plenty of time for take off.  While he read several chapters of The Count of Monte Cristo, I headed back to Toledo.  

Cameron was ready for lunch when I arrived. He picked a place in Perrysburg that we saw on our last trip to Toledo. It was a cute little diner and both of us chose a delicious albeit greasy meal to try.  Although downtown Perrysburg was still under construction, we could see the charm in the Toledo suburb complete with restaurants, coffee houses and antique stores. We both felt that it would be a lot nicer place to live than in the heart of the Glass City.

After lunch, we looked for a miniature golf place and were pleased to see one within 10 minutes of the restaurant. On our way, Cameron had me drive-through several parks near the Maumee river. They were absolutely beautiful.

We played mini-golf in a rural area of Perrysburg with corn fields surrounding us. It reminded me a lot of Northern Indiana. The course was perfect for the two of us and had Ohio trivia question on each hole. Cameron ended up beating me by two in mini-golf, but I took him in trivia. It was so much fun.

Once we finished, Cameron and I drove to several other local spots so he could show me what he had been doing these last few months. We talked a lot about Toledo, Owens Corning, and starting his senior year. It was so nice to spend a laid-back afternoon hanging out with him. I was sad to drop him back off at his apartment tonight, but incredibly thankful for the wonderful weekend in Ohio.

Toledo Again

Doug and I made very good time yesterday on our roadtrip to the Midwest and were scheduled to arrive in Ohio an hour earlier than we had expected.  Cameron was still on his way back from Cora's, so we took advantage of the extra time to stop by a distillery on the bourbon trail.  It was small, but very nice.  They taught Doug how to drink a high alcohol bourbon properly and gave him a few tastings as well.  Doug really enjoyed it and we bought a bottle of cream ale to take with us.

The two of us met Cameron at the dorm shortly after he arrived home.  He was happy to see us and suggested that we try the pizza bar in his back parking lot.  Stubborn Brothers didn't look like much from the outside, but it was fantastic.  I loved the atmosphere and its proximity to campus.  Cameron and his roommates could literally walk there in less than five minutes.  Doug thought it was fantastic and enjoyed his beer and snack with Cameron.

On our way back to the car, Cameron realized that he had locked himself out of his dorm room.  Since all of his roommates were out of town, he had to call the help desk to let him into his apartment.  They had just changed the locks, and he hadn't gotten used to the automatic locking system.  We took advantage of the extra time at the dorm to play pool and watch the World Cup in the lounge adjacent to his room.  It was a lot of fun and none of us minded waiting.

Once Cameron got his keys, we headed to our hotel in downtown Toledo.  We were pleased to see that we had a view of the Mudhens stadium just like last month.  The only bad part was that they were playing in Indy this weekend.  We still walked by the stadium several times this evening as Cameron wanted to show us a few of the bars that he had discovered since he first arrived in Ohio.  We loved all of them and even got to see a "service" horse at one.  The best part about the evening was listening to Cameron talk.  I was impressed by how much he had grown as a person since we had saw him in May.  He was excited about the future whether he got an offer from Owens Corning or not.  He was also proud of how hard he had worked this summer, not only at his job, but in making friends and networking.  He had also stayed out of the drama which made his life a lot easier.  It was a great night celebrating the midway point of Cameron's internship and I was very glad that we go to share it with him. 

Saying Goodbye to Molly

It was a sad day for Phil today, because he had to put his beloved Molly down. She had been his constant companion for the last 14 years, and I know that it had to be very difficult for him. Molly had started having health problems a little over a year ago, but just recently had stopped eating. Phil spent as much time as possible with her the last two weeks and had even taken her on a walk this morning before she collapsed.

I called and checked on Phil a couple of times throughout this past week and had even offered to go with him to the vet when it was her time. He chose to do that alone but let us know as soon as it was over. It will be strange to talk to Phil and not ask about Molly.  I am so glad that he decided to walk dogs at the rescue center this spring. That will make this time a little bit easier.

Snail Away

Last spring I noticed that there were snails in our backyard.  I thought that was strange because we lived miles from the nearest natural water source.  I picked a few of them up in a jar and pitched them across the street in the "retention" pond that never held water.  That worked for a few days, but soon, there became so many snails that I would never be able to pick them all up. I figured that they would go away on their own and decided to just leave them alone.

That ended up being a bad idea as the snail population continued to grow and I could no longer ignore the little pests as they were doing a lot of damage to our lemon tree, tomato plant and other vegetation in our backyard.  They had also migrated to our front yard as well.  That's when I decided to research the best way to get rid of the pesky mollusk.  Thankfully, I wasn't the only one with a snail problem.  I founded out that they tended to show up in sandy soiled yards with a lot of moisture.  That made sense to me as our entire yard was sandy and the neighbor behind us had started watering nightly.  Since two of his sprinklers were positioned behind our fence, we ended each evening with a soaked property line right where the snails were the worst.

After doing a lot of research, I decided to use an organic snail bait that would end my snail problem without harming any other living beings.  Unfortunately, it didn't help.  The snails were just as abundant as ever and I was growing tired of them. There was a reprieve in May as it was one of the driest months in Florida history leading to a severe drought which in turn led to a restriction on how much water could be used for watering lawns.  Soon, our snail problem was eliminated naturally, and I was glad to be rid of the pest.  

Even though I was happy for the reprieve, I knew it wouldn't last.  June and July brought the rainy season and the return of my least favorite shelled animal.  Last weekend, I read that the best way to get rid of them was to bury a plastic container filled with beer in the high traffic area.  Supposedly, snails were attracted to yeast and would crawl into the ground level container and drown.  I had high hopes which were soon dashed when three days later there were no snails to be found in the beer, but dozens of them on the fence and on the east side of the house.

At that point, I decided to stop playing nicely and finally bought real "snail bait" from Lowe's.  I knew that it wasn't the most humane way to stop the snails, but it guaranteed that it would work.  It's been a week and I have already noticed a difference.  There are very few snails on the side of the house or fence and almost none on our plants.  Next time, I won't even try any home remedies or organic products. Sometimes you just have to play hardcore, and I guess getting rid of snails is definitely one of those times.